


Struggle

by Leojuju12



Series: Struggle Universe [1]
Category: superfamily - Fandom
Genre: M/M, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-06-06
Packaged: 2018-06-06 13:43:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6756535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leojuju12/pseuds/Leojuju12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darkness... that's all there ever was. How long would his life continue like this?</p><p>Peter Parker was taken at the age of two and raised to be a weapon. Three years later, hope comes for him in shape of another prisoner. This small man may hold the key to his future, as well as his freedom. Will he be able to claim a new life for himself? Or forever live in this darkness?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

An eternal void filled with darkness... that is the best way to describe it. Peter lays his head back against the wall. He has been kept in this place for three years.  The man pushed him harder every day, forcing him to train, study the latest technology and science, and on occasion he used him like a lab rat, testing this new technology on his small body. 

The rest of his life was not any better, he could still recall his first memory...

Fire and smoke was every where, Peter's mother was running towards the exit with him in her arms, the building shook violently and the ceiling started to fall, his mother only had enough time to push him out the exit before a beam fell on her, crushing her skull. Peter cried as he watched the blood pool around her, the rest of his family in the building  had suffocated in front of him, he was alone.

This all happened on his second birthday.

A week later he was hiding in alleyways shivering and starving, the cops had ignored him, thus he was left to fend for himself. Hearing footsteps he quickly looked toward the sound to see a man walking towards him. He stopped when he was in front of Peter, he didn't say a word, instead he just held out his hand, and Peter took it.

The man lead him to a run-down building on the outskirt of the city, they walked inside and went down a pair of crumbling stone steps. Reaching the bottom and seeing nothing Peter turned around to face the mysterious man only to be meet by blackness. When he awoke he was in a small pitch black room, confused he looked for the man only to be meet by darkness. He called for help or anybody to come rescue him, but every time he opened his mouth he was meet with an electric shock. If he cried a strange figure would come into the room and whip him. A week later Peter no longer spoke and no longer shared his emotions. It was then they began his training.

Three years later at the age of five Peter was still in this place. He was forced to sleep standing up and only received a chunk of bread and a small bowl of soup or a tiny sandwich after he solved his assignments for the day. They varied from scientific equations as well as experiments, to taking down several robots in training, or even performing acrobatics on a type-rope. From the three years of being here he had managed to figure out something of the mysterious place and his captors. There was only one person, and he seemed to be in a basement of some sort. But that didn't do him any good. He couldn't  manage to find a way out, and even if he did there was nowhere for him to go all his family was dead and he is an orphan.

Sighing he lifts his head from the wall, when he hears a soft click. He turns towards the door of his prison, finding the man standing there staring at him. No words are exchanged. The man walks over to Peter and places a small knife in his hand. He then turns towards the door with a young Peter following silently behind him.

The get to the lab and the man motions for Peter to sit on the table. Peter does so, knowing exactly what this means -- he has a mission. The man occasionally went on them from time to time and none of those times were ever pleasant. Now the man slides a chip into peters neck along with many others, then he gives Peter a piece of paper with a name, before darkness encloses around him. 

He wakes up on a bench. It is dark and nobody is around. Peter gets up and starts walking in the direction the chip implanted in him is showing. There is no use in trying to run. The chip in the back of his neck will only allow him to walk in his current direction. Anytime he tries to stop or move in a different direction he was meet with a high voltage shock that makes his skull rattle, he has no choice but to follow orders.

Upon reaching the destination Peter is greeted by the sight of a young man sitting on the ground looking up. Peter doesn't understand what he is staring at or what the other man is leaning his back against. It is tall and had small parts that look like the big part but with something along them. 

He has no time to stare as he is given his assignment via chip. The man in front of him was to be killed. Peter inwardly shook, he hated assignments like this. Five minutes later Peter was on top of the man with the knife pressed to his neck, Peter could never kill anyone and thanks to his computer knowledge he could always find a loophole. Thankfully the man trying to control him couldn't see what actually happens.

While the young man is pleading with him, Peter slips a note into his hand and quickly stabs the man's thigh. He then removes the knife and walks back to the bench he woke up on, the man's ear piercing screams following him the entire way. After counting to a thousand, the man's screams were silenced and Peter is alone with the darkness. Soon the dark envelops him once again and he awakens back inside his small room.

He stands up to sleep remembering what the note had said.

_"I'm sorry for stabbing you, but I needed your blood to convince someone you're dead. Change your name and leave the city. Do not call the cops! Helping this way is all I can do for you."_

Peter had never been able to kill; no matter who it was. He could always delete the person's records while doing his studies the following day. After all --- all he needed is their name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta (AKM) Note: This chapter has been completed, but not Chapter 2 and beyond. Chapter 11 has been, and Chapter 12 is being Beta'ed as I write this Beta Note.
> 
> How the fans can tell is that the chapters that are completely Beta'ed shall be named.
> 
> Beta Introduction:
> 
> Hi, everyone! I read this story and became fascinated by it, as many of you have --- the stories I write tend to be so very dark, and this is such a sweet, beautiful story about Little Peter, his current circumstances here in Chapter 1, and how his life changes as time moves forward. I think you all are going to be just as fascinated as I was when I read everything the author has, asked some questions, and was told where this story is going inside the authors head, and I was even able to help make a couple suggestions.
> 
> IF any of you Fans write stories, or Fanfiction --- who know how Life can get in the way of writing with it's Endless demands on a Writer's Time, and Energy! Sometimes having another person, (especially a fan) to ask questions can help a writer to write the story that's currently in their head down on a computer screen or a notepad, so that it may be shared with the world.
> 
> I'm taking a minor break from my Personal Spideypool Stories, and helping Leojuju12 with their's.
> 
> Addressing Some "Concerns" That Readers Had:
> 
> It is so difficult to get tense correct for me too! I tend to accidentally write present tense, when I need past tense, or past tense when I need present tense. It's an easy mistake that a writer can make but one a Beta can quickly fix.
> 
> Also: There was a Comment from a fan about getting: their, there, they're etc, right --- I mean correct. (Or should I say: right, write.) This too is an easy mistake that a spellchecker will not find, nor fix or suggest that it even needs to be fixed. This too, is where a Beta comes in to help!
> 
> In my opinion :: "A writer --- Writes!"
> 
> So all of these things should be helped by a Beta, because it can be so easy for Life to bog a writer down, and we writer's need all the help we can get, from time to time...
> 
> I'm still Searching for my own Beta, but that does not mean that I cannot take a mini-break from my personal stories to help out a fellow author that quite frankly has an excellent story idea and a wonderful group of fans. They just needed a Beta to Complete their story, and I LOVE helping, especially someone so kind and generous of spirit!
> 
> So... ALL of Leojuju12's Fans: Strap yourselves in for a wild, amazing Spideypool adventure that is unique, entertaining and downright wonderful to experience!


	2. Chapter 2

Peter woke up to his familiar smack to the face, he had seen it coming thanks to the fact he also slept with his eyes open but he knew there was no point in trying to evade it. It would only result in a beating.

The man turned a walked out of the room, leaving the door open meaning Peter was to follow. As he did so an unfamiliar sound reached his ears. Again the sound repeated and this time Peter made it out to be a groan. He turned his head slightly to find the source of the sound, to discover a small man chained and hunched in the corner and chained, a strange blue light was emitted from a small circular device in his chest.

Peter didn't have long to gawk as a sharp pain came from his side. The man had stabbed him in the side to keep him moving. Peter followed to the other side of the room where he was given a small tablet to do his lessons. The man then turned and left leaving Peter and the strange newcomer in the room.

Hours later Peter had finished his lessons along with deleting certain files that belonged to a Mark Dewitt. The man in the corner had awoken by then but Peter assumed he wasn't quite awake due to the fact his head kept dropping every once in a while. He remembered the first time he'd been drugged, it wasn't pleasant and it took quite a bit to wake up from. When the man finally did come-to his head snapped upward quickly as he took in his surroundings. His focus landed on Peter and Peter could hear him swear under his breathe. The man then spoke up, "Hey kid, feel like untying me?" Peter thought no harm could come of this since he could very handle himself against the man, but when he came within 5 feet he was shot with an electric pulse. The man winced but Peter stood unfazed. The man looked up at him guilty, "Name's Tony Stark Kid, what's yours?" Peter looked at the man but said nothing, he had read some of this mans work but never really thought much about who actually write them. The man stared at Peter and peter realized he was waiting for an answer, he stared back not answering. Peter was unsure of what to do, it had been over three years since he last spoke and he wasn't sure he knew how to talk anymore, granted all the time he spent alone he had learned many new languages and sign language on top of that. Peter stood looking at him until the door clicked an the man walked into to the room and over to Peter , swiftly striking the young boy repeatedly until he was on the ground. He was then dragged back to the other side of the room were his daily training began.Peter thought he heard the small man chained growl, but ignored it as the training bots lunged at him.

After all the bots had been destroyed, Peter stood panting slightly before the man re-entered to drag Peter back to his room. He could feel the wide eyes of the other man on him as he passed by. Peter did not make eye contact as he knew it would result in him receiving a look as if he were some sort of monster.

When the lock had clicked on his door, he placed himself in the middle of the room to get some sleep before the next session.

Peter awoke to the sound of a large explosion and screaming. The door to his room clicked and the man rushed inside and seized Peter by the shoulders. Frantically searching his pockets he implanted a chip in to Peters neck. Instantly his instructions appeared, Kill the Intruders.

Another loud crash and suddenly the man from earlier and about five other people where in the room. The small man from earlier was in a bright red a gold suit hovering above the ground and stared directly at Peter "Wow, Making the kid do your dirty work know that's low" Peter's captor snarled behind him and suddenly Peter felt the jolting shock of the electricity in his neck. He quickly then dropped into a fighting stance and looked at the other 6 people in the room.

"Your kidding right?" One of the men asked, he had a bow a stared at his companions " I don't think he is." A red headed woman replied "This is outrageous, i'm not fighting a innocent kid." A red, white, and blue clad man said "Cap, careful the kids dangerous, I don't know what he's done to him but the kid has to follow orders" The man from earlier whispered. Nothing else was able to be said as Peter had lunged at them aiming for one of the two who had remained quiet, his one metal arm swung up to meet the little boy. Peter launched of his arm and flipped over him hitting a man with a large hammer. The man then growled and swung at Peter only to miss. "Thor!" The metal man said-as Peter decided to name him such just because- "Don't hurt him remove the chip from his neck!"

Peter stared blankly, the last ten minutes had passed by very slowly. Four of the six strangers where down but not unconscious. He turned towards the last two panting. The metal man and the red white and blue one. He felt a shock in his neck again as his captor pushed him. He ran towards the metal man and launched off the balls of his feet. Before he could reach him though his ankle was grabbed and he was pulled back down. A large hand was placed on his back to restrain him from moving, he was shocked multiple times as he struggled before another hand came up to his neck and removed the chip. Peter stopped struggling and was released. He looked up to see his captor knocked out by the other strangers who had gotten back up.

When it was silent the strangers looked at him, Peter was very uncomfortable at this but only stood and stared blankly not sharing any emotion in fear of getting hit by them, and boy could they hit. There were multiple bruises and cuts along his slender figure, the metal man approached him. Peter had been wondering throughout the battle how he knew about his chip, but he knew better than to speak. The man crouched down in front of him until he was at eye level and spoke softly to Peter.

"Remember me?" he said calmly "Well me and my friends are here to help you and you won't have to worry about him hurting you anymore." Gesturing towards the man "How bout' we take you back to your family now?" he asked. All Peter did was stand straight and stare silently ahead. "Can you tell us your name?" he questioned, but again Peter stared. "Kid you okay?" By now the rest of his group had joined him at staring at the small boy. "Thank you for trying to help me earlier." he said trying to start a conversation but the boy remained motionless. He looked behind him as if he was silently asking a question. When the red headed lady walked up to him and bent down to look at him.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony P.O.V.

"Stark," Natasha said after looking at the boy for a moment "We are taking him with us." I just nodded silently staring at the kid, he looked no older than 6. The kid had try to help me but got hurt, but what made me feel awful was the fact that he seemed not to have any emotions. He did't cry or scream, heck he didn't even seem to know how to talk. Tony wondered how long he'd been here, and what that man had done to this poor kid, he knew how to fight and he seemed pretty smart considering he took down more than half of the Avengers. Natasha stuck out her hand to the boy but he didn't move, it was heartbreaking. He had no trust for people. Picking up his hand Natasha softly put in her own never breaking eye contact with him. She stood up and looked at the rest of us "Well boys," she said "shall we?" We filed out behind her not saying a word, just staring at the kid who walked in front of us.


	3. Chapter 3

Peter blinked as he was led up a pair of stairs by the red-headed woman. He didn't know why he was letting her take him, but he figured it was better than getting beat again. When they reached the top he stopped dead in his tracks. It was bright, too bright,his eyes took time to re-adjust and he saw something in front of them. It was the tall thing from before, the one he had seen on his last mission. The woman noticed his staring and lead him over to it. She placed his hand on it and let him feel it. It was rough and made a dark spot under its mass. He stared up at it wondering what it was, before turning his attention back to the woman staring blankly at her.

\---------------------------------------

Tony P.O.V.

I winced when I saw the kid staring at the tree motionless. How could he not even know what a tree was? The rest of the team didn't say a word, but i could see the sadness in there eyes. Why didn't we find him earlier? He didn't know what a tree was for Pete's sake! When he looked at Natasha blankly she softly said " This is a tree and these things," she said picking up a leaf "Is a leaf." The boy didn't move just stared. Natasha gently placed it in his hand, but again he didn't move.

It did surprise me however how careful Nat was being, I wasn't used to seeing this side of her. She was being so gentle with him as if he would break if she weren't careful.

"For Pete's sake" I muttered. The kid suddenly tensed up and looked behind him at me. "What?" I said. He moved backwards very slowly as if he was going to run. At least he could move on his own. Everyone stared at the boy then at me searching for a reason to his sudden movement. "Was it something I said?" "I think so." Steve replied

The boy was still backing up slowly, but Nat grabbed his hand again and he stopped dead in his tracks. I thought about what I had said, and then it clicked. "Pete," I said. Everyone looked at me with questioning looks, but the boy was suddenly yanking at Nat trying to get free, but she had a strong grip. "That's your name isn't it?" He froze looking straight at me, but when I stepped towards him i saw the tiniest flash of emotion in his eyes that quickly vanished.

I stopped and everyone kept staring,but I made no movements because what I had seen in Peter's eyes was terror.

\-------------------------------------------------------

An hour later I was back at the tower. Natasha and Clint had taken Peter to S.H.E.I.L.D to locate his parents. I grimaced thinking about Peter, how long had he been there? I thought how long it took to kill ones emotions, and figured he had been there awhile. It sat at the couch while J.a.r.v.i.s turned on a movie. A couple minutes into Back to the future Steve walked in and sat next to me on the couch. He sat there for a couple minutes before looking at me. I had J.a.r.v.i.s. pause the movie and I turned to face him,"So what do you want to tell me?" He looked at me for another minute before saying " Tony what are they going to do with him?" I knew he was talking about Peter but in all honesty I didn't know, he was to dangerous to go out alone and even if they found his parents would they even want a kid like him? He didn't talk, didn't show emotions, he'll he wouldn't be surprised if they deemed him unsafe to go into the word. Tony frowned thinking about that, it was unfair it's not like the kid had a choice in what he did he was forced. Tony was brought back to reality when he noticed Steve was still waiting for an answer. " I wish I knew but I don't, hopefully they'll find his parents and he can go back to a somewhat normal life." I replied. Steve looked unhappy about that, "And what if they can't Tony? What then? Will S.H.I.E.L.D. raise the poor boy? He can't even handle normal people how will he handle even colder people raising him?" I looked at him dumbfounded, apparently he cares a lot more than I thought. " I wouldn't let that happen." I said. Eyes widening Steve looked at me mouth agape. "What would you do?" He asked quietly "We could adopt him," I said "but only if they can't find his parents and if a certain husband of mine says yes." "You really mean it?" Steve squealed, God he sounded like a little school girl, it was kinda cute though. " I thought it would be a lot harder to convince you." I chuckled at that, getting up I kissed him on the nose, walking to the kitchen I replied " Yeah? Well me to Capsicle." And made myself some popcorn.


	4. Chapter 4

Peter sat in a chair by the red headed woman from earlier. They were in a small room that only contained a few chairs and a table in the center. The red-headed woman said nothing but continued to stare at Peter, Peter turned his attention back to his hand which held a small leaf from earlier. He turned it over tracing the faint patterns that intertwined on the leaf, he held it up to his blank face examining it closely, when the door opened up to the room.

Peter looked up and saw a man with one eye covered walk in and his expression matched Peter's, blank. He sat down across from him and the red-haired lady and meet Peters eyes with his own. After a moment of silence the man spoke, " Hello Pete, my name is Nick Fury and i'm here to help assist you in finding your parents, is that okay?" Peter stared at the man who called himself Nick Fury, Peter had read through his file, he was a director for an organization called S.H.E.I.L.D. and apparently was some sort of super-spy.

Continuing to stare Peter said nothing to the man and sat quietly waiting for nothing, he hadn't spoken in three years and he sure wasn't gonna start now with the worlds best spy. No, he would remain silent there was no trust in this room and there wasn't going to be. The man sighed and looked to the red-haired lady before getting up and walking out, leaving the two alone again.

After two hours of questioning Peter had remained silent even when the red-headed lady spoke to him. Sure she was nice and Peter would be sure to stick by her until he found someplace for himself. Throughout all of this though everyone kept calling him Pete instead of Peter, which he found a bit amusing, seeing as the tin guy actually called him Peter instead of Pete, but his expression didn't convey any of his amusement. He was sitting in the same small room all day before the lady got up and grabbed Peters hand leading him out into a dim-light hallway. He heard a hushed conversation happening, he listened in with his trained ear hoping to pick some of it up.

" You can't leave him at S.h.e.i.l.d until he talks Nick, he just a little kid." a voice said " And what do you want me to do about it Stark? The boy hasn't said a word to anyone and face doesn't come up in any databases, we know absolutely nothing about him, and hell we probably never will." Declared a voice that sounded like the man Peter had seen earlier, Fury, he thought placing the name, and was he talking to the tin guy? "Then let us take him to the tower for a couple days, its better than this." the other voiced said. Peter stopped in his tracks, the lady turned around to face him raising a brow but made no attempt to move him again and let him stand there listening to the conversation. 

" You, Tony Stark wants to take a child in?" Fury asked disbelief in his voice. " Yes, why is that so hard to believe?" the tin guy asked. Peter now shocked in disbelief started moving towards the door the lady right on his heels not saying a word, but a bit relieved the boy was moving on his own. Stopping at the door Peter looked a the doorknob then at the lady as if he was silently asking if he could open it.

\--Natasha P.O.V.------------------------------------

Natasha stared at the boy in disbelief why was he int rested in this door? It was the first time he had done anything by himself sure, but what had caught his interest so much. The boy turned and looked at her as if he was silently asking permission to open it. Natasha grabbed the knob and opened the door to the room, shocked she found Nick and Tony turning to meet her gaze their expression matching hers.

"Um, Natasha how did you know I was here?" Tony asked confused " I didn't" she muttered. Nick rose his eyebrow " What brings you here?" he asked quietly noticing the boy by her. Natasha pointed to the small boy behind her " He did" she said. Did Pete know they where in this room, how had he heard them. Glancing back up she saw Tony and Nick staring in disbelief at the small boy.

\------Peter P.O.V.-------------------------------------

I watched as the three stared at me. I looked at the red-headed lady, apparently her name was Natasha, it was nice to get a name. Tin guy looked at her than me before walking over to us. Getting down on one knee in front of me he asked "What brings you here Petey?" I looked at him for a moment before doing something that surprised even myself. 

I pointed straight at him, leaving everyone with a shocked face. He looked up at Natasha before looking back to me. Before he said anything I released Natasha's hand and reached into my back pocket. Everyone stared at me while I retrieved a roll of bandages from my back pocket. Pulling them out I placed them in his hand and pointed at a large gnash on his face. He looked at me dumbfounded before asking "You came here to give me bandages? Where you that worried?" He asked me. I stared at him but nodded slightly, he stared back before whispering " Thank you." 

He put his hand on my head and ruffled my hair and for once I didn't flinch, this was actually quiet nice. He got up and turned towards the director, but before he could speak the director turned and said " One week Stark, we will try this out for one week" before walking out a different door. Turning once more he faced me and Natasha. "What was that about?" Natasha asked with a raised eyebrow. " He just gave us permission to take Petey here to the tower for a week." He replied.

" He what? Stark, I don't know how you pulled that off, but this is the only time i'm going to say this, tell anyone and i'll deny it, but Thank you." she said a a bi grin spread across her face. Shocked once more Tin guy looked at her and laughed before returning his attention to me." Come on Petey, lets take you to the tower.

\------- Tony P.O.V.---------------------------

Two hours later we where landing the quin-jet on the launch pad. Clint's face was priceless when we boarded with Pete in tow. He fell out of his chair, and stared mouth agape at the kid. I laughed as his picked himself up off the floor regaining his composer. " Nice going Barton, that was truly graceful." I mocked. 

He scowled at me before turning to Natasha, " How'd you manage to convince Nick to let take the kid?" " I didn't," she replied " Stark did." Clint stood dumbfounded, " Stark did? I must have died and gone to a fucked up place." He replied rubbing his temples. "Haha , funny. Now are you gonna stand there all day or are we going to actually leave before tomorrow?" I said rolling my eyes. Barton stared for a moment more before turning to the cockpit muttering under his breath.

When we had finally landed Natasha unbuckled Peter and took his hand helping him off the seat. Once he was down he stared at me, as if waiting for something. I stared back before Natasha spoke up " Well Stark are you going to show him around or what?" I snapped back to reality looking at her, " Yea, yea." I muttered before grabbing Peter's other hand leading him out of the jet.

He looked at our hands then at me, and I saw a faint smile on his lips. We all loaded onto the elevator, " Jarvis, take us to the living room." I said "Right away sir." a metallic voice replied. As the elevator started moving I was surprised to see Peter calm, usually Jarvis scared the crap out of people, but Peter didn't seem bothered one bit. Remembering something I said " Also Jarvis add Peter to your Database, he'll be staying with us for a while." " Already done sir." Came the reply.

When we finally reached the living room floor, I was a bit nervous for Peter. This team could get pretty rowdy sometimes, especially after the twins and Vision joined. As the door dinged open everyone stared at us, dropping there conversations once they saw Peter. " I know i'm good looking, but that's no reason to stare." Clint said walking into the room, earning an eye roll from everyone. Bruce was the first to speak up, "Tony, why is the kid here?" he asked as if he already knew the answer. " I convinced Nick to let him stay with us for a bit until they find his family." I replied coolly stepping of the elevator with Peter in tow. They all stared at me then back to Peter. "Well this will be interesting." Bucky said turning back to the t.v.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written a while back, so forgive me for all P.O.V. changes. It gets better I promise. Also If any one is interested in helping write it I'd love the help. I have 18 chapters so far, but i'm running out of ideas so co-writers would be welcomed. Thanks for sticking with it!   
> Leojuju12


	5. Chapter 5

After a couple hours of awkward introductions and Peter just staring emotionless, Steve came up with idea for dinner with the team everyone agreed to it, while Peter just stared. They came to the decision of having Thai because nobody could agree on anything, so Bruce just said "Thai food" ending all the arguments. No one was really stupid enough to argue with Bruce so they called the nearest Thai place and ordered take out.

An hour later they were all sitting at a large table passing around the food. Peter sat in between Tony and Natasha, with Clint across from him. As they all started eating Tony noticed Peter hadn't made an attempt to touch his food, instead he looked at it blankly with a hint of curiosity. 

Tony stopped eating himself and leaned in towards the small child. " It's Thai food Petey, it looks different to what your probably use to, but its food." The boy looked at him for a brief moment before looking back down not moving. All the the residents of the tower where watching this exchange quiet surprised Tony could be this gentle. But when Tony actually picked up the boys food in attempt to feed them they all felt as if they where thrown into a weird dream that they just needed to wake up from.

\--------------Peter P.O.V.------------------------------------

As Tony tried to feed me I watched as everyone stared at me, I looked down trying to hide my face uncertain of why they where staring at me. The man named Bruce started a conversation with Bucky and Wanda, drawing everyone's attention towards them. Tony flashed him a small smile before turning back to me coaxing me to take a bite. I looked at it for a moment, praying it was poison or so cruel trick I took a bite. Closing my eyes I waited for the poison or blades to cut me but it never happened. I started chewing and to my surprise it tasted really good, easily the best thing I ever ate.

I quickly swallowed and looked at Tony a huge smile on his face. " Pretty good huh, Petey." I nodded my headed slowly and he offered me another bite.

\----------Tony P.O.V.--------------------------------------------

This kid was frickin cute. I continued to feed him small bites watching him chew quietly. I felt Steve watching us from beside me a small smile on his face. Once Peter got about a fourth of the way down he held up his small hand and shook his head signalling he was full. Now I was concerned, this couldn't be all the food he could manage, could it? How much did he have to eat while he was down there. Everyone else seemed to notice this a s well and shared concerned looks. 

Bruce pushed his box back and standing up he turned towards us. " I'm going to the lab, do you want to accompany me Pete?" Peter stared blankly and stood up, standing as well i held his hand as we followed Bruce. I knew the real reason we where following Bruce was to test Peter and see how bad his condition was. When we reached the lab Bruce had us sit on a cot and he handed Peter a book. Peter took it and stared at Bruce something he had been doing since he spoke up at the table.

He then turned and handed me the book continuing to stare at Bruce. Bruce came back with an tablet for Peter to play on. Peter took it and seconds later turned it back around to face him. On it was Bruce's theory on cross-species gamma radiation, Peter pointed to it then Bruce. " Yes that's mine, I didn't know you where interested in such matters." Bruce spoke still staring at the screen, nodding his head Peter continued to stare at Bruce.

"Well Pete if you don't mind can I run a couple test on you?" Bruce asked quietly. Peter stared but nodded again very slowly. After an hour of testing Bruce finally completed all the tests. Looking at me with a grim expression he turned back to Peter who was doing something on the tablet. Looking up he meet Bruce's gaze and lowered the tablet. " Hey Pete, it's been a long day for you, how bout we call it a night?" Bruce asked him softly. 

Peter nodded and handed me the tablet. I was surprised to see he had hacked S.H.E.I.L.D.'s files on us and was looking through them. " Petey, did you hack S.H.E.I.L.D. ?" I asked dumbfounded that the kid could do this. He nodded quietly, eyes on the floor. I laughed and ruffled his hair "I knew you where smart, how did you do it without getting caught?" I asked still giggling, this kid was good. He looked up at me surprise crossing his face which in return surprised me because he hadn't shown any emotion until now. " You're gonna have to show me how you did that one day, but right now Bruce is right about calling it a day."

I got up setting the tablet down and held my hand out for his. He grabbed it and we headed for the elevator a speechless Bruce staring at the Tablet.

\--------- Peter's P.O.V.-------------------------------

I was shocked, he didn't care I hacked into a government facility or that I was looking information up about them.

I looked up at him, why didn't he care? He didn't even care, he didn't get mad, he actually looked happy? He wants to know how I did it, but he doesn't care that I did it? I am so confused, he doesn't care? He really doesn't? Suddenly I felt something I hadn't in awhile happiness. I felt as if I could trust these people, they where nice and they helped me. They where like they family I never had. I felt something warm in my chest. When the elevator dinged open all the people in the tower turned towards us a smile on there face. Yeah, this was my family now. As we walked out i felt my mouth twitching. I was, smiling? 

It felt, ... good. I looked up and smiled even bigger, it felt right. Natasha was the first to see and she smiled back. Everyone stopped and looked at her confused as to why she was smiling. "Uh, Nat you okay there?" Clint asked. Instead of answering she pointed to me her smile widening, they all turned to where she was pointing and saw me. Tony looked down and smiled himself. Looking around to each other they all smiled to, I looked at Natasha and walked up to her. She got down on one knee when I got in front of her, before she could say anything I wrapped my arms around her hugging her. They all looked shocked at Natasha put her arms around me hugging back, it felt right, I hadn't been hugged in three years and sure wasn't going to let go now.

She slowly pulled me back a huge smile on her face. " Good day huh?" she asked. I nodded happy and ran back to Tony wrapping my arms around his leg. He looked surprised but bent down and grabbed me picking me up in his embrace. He hugged me before carrying me towards the rest. I tapped his shoulder silently asking to get down and he released me. I ran to Steve next hugging his leg smiling up at him.

His smile grew wider and he hugged me " Well someone likes hugs." he said ruffling my hair. I pulled out and ran around hugging everyone and Thor laughed loudly when I hugged him. When I was done I stood in the center of the room and they all had huge smiles on there faces. The elevator dinged and Bruce walked in still shocked from earlier but when he saw everyone smiling he looked around confused before I tackled his legs in a hug. His smile soon grew as big as the others as he hugged me back. " This is new." He laughed releasing me from his hold. I giggled and went back to Tony standing by his side. I was happy for the first time in a long time, I trusted them and it hasn't been a day. I looked around happier than I've ever been and they looked just as happy. 

They where great, the best family anyone could get. Tony picked me up again startling me a bit and sat on a big red couch everyone following pursuit. We where silent for a moment before Steve spoke up "Well Pete it's nice to see you so happy." Everyone nodded. I thought for a second, if I was trusting them than maybe they should know my name was Peter not Pete. I made up my mind I was going to speak. I hadn't done it in forever and wasn't sure I could remember, but looking around I knew I had to try. They had helped me and they didn't beat me. I trusted them and they made me happy, they deserved at least that much. I opened my mouth and started making a couple sounds. They all stared as I attempted, " Petey, don't hurt yourself its okay." Tony soothed running my back. I shook my head and tried again. 

"Peter" I whispered barley audible. "What?" Bruce asked dumbfounded. "Peter, my name is Peter not Pete." I said a little louder but it was still a whisper. they all grinned at me. "Hello, Peter. It's a pleasure to meet you." Steve said. I smiled. Then looked at Tony and tried speaking again " My name is Peter Benjamin Parker, and I am Five years old." I said very softly .He grinned at me and I leaned into his shoulder hand around my throat from the strain I had put on it. Natasha got up and walked out of the room returning with a cup of water. Handing it to me I drank it giving some relief to my sore throat.

I looked up gratefully when she took the cup. Bruce looked at me curiosity in his eyes. "Peter, I sounds as if you haven't talked in awhile. Try not to strain yourself to much, we don't want to cause permanent damage. Only talk if you can okay?" He asked and I nodded. "But can you manage to answer one more question? Don't strain yourself to if you can't you can always write it down okay? The question is when was the last time you spoke?" Bruce asked carefully. I looked at him and thought about talking, I could manage it one more time if he needed to know then I would tell him. 

Staring straight into his eyes I sat up and whispered "Three years ago, I stooped after I was taken." Slouching back against Tony I yawned, I closed my eyes but I didn't miss the look Bruce had on his face, Horror. I smiled, they cared, and with that I fell asleep against Tony with my eyes closed and laying down for the first time in a long time. I was going to like it here.

\------------3rd P.O.V.----------------------------------------

They all stared at Peter in shock. He had been there three years? He was only Five! They watched his chest rise and fall slowly a smile still on his face. A few started wishing they had done more than turn that man in. How could he be so happy after three years of torture? He had to be strong, way strong they all watched as Tony stroked the boys hair gaze resting on his face. " Jarvis, will you please pop up anything you find on Peter Benjamin Parker on the big screen please?" Everyone's head quickly turned towards the t.v. as News-reports, Birth-certificate and pictures pooped up on the screen. Tony covered Peter in a blanket then joined the rest in looking at the screen. A Newspaper article caught Tony's eye " Jarvis what does that News article say?" Tony said looking at the screen. " August 23rd, an Oscorp building crumbled from an explosion, 10 people were reported dead and 1 missing.

Among the 10 dead included the scientists Mary and John Parker along with there only other family May and Ben Parker who had been visiting for the day. Their child however was reported missing and most likely dead with the family. With no one left in the family if the boy is found to please call CPS right away." Jarvis read. " Stop, Jarvis that's enough." Tony said cutting him off. Everyone returned there attention to Peter who was still asleep in Tony's lap, faces grim and torn with sadness, there hearts breaking for the small boy.

Natasha was the first to speak again "Jarvis what is that video?" Everyone' s attention turned back towards the T.V. once more as a video played. In it a woman was running towards the exit a small child in her arms bleeding. She was coughing from the smoke and stumbling in a half run towards the exit. The building shook and the woman looked up in horror . She ran faster and threw the child to the ground outside just as a beam crashed down crushing her skull.

The little child screamed and grabbed the woman's bloody hand that protruded from the beam begging her to wake up. When the boy stood up he turned towards the camera eyes on the ground and ran towards an alley sobbing uncontrollably. As he ran past the camera caught the tots face revealing a smaller and bloody Peter. The video stopped and they all sat silently, horrified at what they just saw. Peter had watched his family die, and was taken and tortured for three years, and yet he could still smile. He could trust them enough after one day to give them his name. They weren't going to let this boy live his life in any more pain. He had seen things that no one should never have to go through, he was only five. But as long as he was with them they would never let him go through something so horrible, this was there promise. Peter deserved happiness and they where going to make sure he got it. Tony got up and walked to his room Peter in his arms and returned a minute later empty handed. "Damn, hes a lot stronger than I thought." Tony commented sitting back down. "Hey Brucey how where his test results?" 

Bruce looked at Tony "He dangerously underweight, malnourished, he's tiny for his age, has scars on his back that will never heal, and to top it all off his throat is in bad shape from not being used, I was surprised he was able to talk at all." Bruce said slowly. They all winced, Tony looked thoughtful, well the weight thing shouldn't be to hard to fix, we can give him a couple I.V.'s till his nutrient levels are back up, and I can build something to help him talk better until his voice heals. As for the scars, well there's nothing that can be done for that, and the tiny part shouldn't be to bad I mean Cap here use to be tiny to." Tony said snickering at the last part. 

"Hey, bigger than you right now Tony?" Steve said sticking his tongue out like a child." But can you really Build something to help him speak?" Steve asked " HELLO, genius?" Tony said "And with Brucey's help i'm sure we can whip up something." "Quick question." Clint butted in " Who's telling Fury about what we found?" They all went silent again. " I will." Steve said. Everyone looked at him and nodded. "Okay then," Tony said " Sleep then I'll go get to work first thing in the morning."Standing up he headed to his bedroom Steve followed behind him in pursuit. Getting up and heading there separate ways everyone's thoughts remained on the small boy in the tower.

 

\-----------Steve P.O.V.----------------------------

I followed Tony to our room. "Tony?" I asked "Yes I will talk to Nick about adopting him and trust me hes not aloud to say no." Tony stated "Actually I was going to ask if you wanted me to do that tomorrow when I went."

He turned towards me " Sure Cap-sickle, thanks." he said hugging me. I grabbed a pillow and a blanket and turned back towards the door in order not to wake Peter. "Where are you going?" Tony said watching me. " I'm sleeping on the couch tonight so when I get up early I don't accidentally wake up Peter." I said continuing toward the door. Tony go up to follow but turned around. " Uh huh," I said "You are staying with Peter because hes trust you a lot, and you don't want to scare him if he wakes up alone." I said turning back towards the door. 

"Night babe."Tony stopped and turned back to the bed with Peter still asleep in it."Night Cap-sickle"

I walked to the couch and crashed shutting my eyes. I thought about all that Peter had gone through, it sure wasn't fair but hopefully every one can give him a better life here at the tower. I smiled thinking about that and let sleep consume me.


	6. Chapter 6

Steve got up at five the next morning and headed down to the gym for a workout before breakfast.   
He got to work on a sand-filled punching it in a rhythmic pattern.   
Left, Right,Left,Right,Left Knee, Left, Right, Left, Right, Right Knee, repeating the process over and over in a dance like form moving swiftly and silently. 

 

\------Peter P.O.V.-----------------------------------------

 

I woke up to see Tony sleeping next to me and arms protectively over me. I looked around to notice I was laying down in a different room than what I feel asleep in. I scanned the room and saw a Digital clock resting on a small table. The screen read 5:09 a.m. in a dull light blue color. Rubbing my eyes i slipped out of Tony's grasp without waking him and walked out of the room. Back in the living room Peter looked around and saw nobody was up, but there was an empty blanket and pillow on the couch. Peter looked around searching for a good place to stretch his limbs.

As he started Jarvis spoke up "Master Peter, would you like to go to the gym to continue your exercise? Sir Steve is in there as well." Peter thought about it before nodding his head yes, it would be nice to train a little bit and Steve seemed nice enough to him. Walking soundlessly to the elevator and stepping in Jarvis took him down to the gym. When Peter stepped out he saw Steve training on the punching bag moving skillfully with every kick and punch. Peter wasn't surprised at his skill after all he took Peter down gently and painlessly in order to remove the chip in his neck.

Remembering this Peter frowned and rubbed the back of his neck where the chip use to be, long gone but not forgotten. Peter walked to the other side of the gym to proceed in his stretching. When he finished he looked up to see Steve walking towards him a towel around his neck and a water bottle in hand. "Hey, Peter watcha doing up this early?" Steve asked. Peter looked nervously to the ground, was he not suppose to be down here? He hadn't thought about accidentally interrupting Steve while he was doing important things. 

His thoughts where cut short when Steve placed one of his large sturdy hands on Peter's shoulder. He looked up to Steve curiosity written on his face. So he didn't mind? "Old habits die hard, huh?" He said smiling down at me. I nodded embarrassed he actually knew why I was here. Even if I wasn't in that place anymore I still felt the need to train. I had nothing else to do and well training is something I always did. " I know the feeling." Steve said, he did? 

A smiled spread across my face, I was happy he had something in common with me."Care to train with me?" he asked. I nodded quickly happy he had asked me. We headed back to the punching bags grins on both our faces.

\--------Tony P.O.V.---------------------------

Opening my eyes and yawning, it took me a moment to realize Peter wasn't with me. Dashing out of the bed I looked at the time on the Alarm clock 8:46 a.m. "Jarvis, Wheres Peter?" I asked dressing quickly hoping nothing had happened to him. " He got up around five Sir, and has been training in the gym with Sir Steve. They are currently working on a fan kick and Sir Steve seems to be having troubles completing the move."

Jarvis stated. I relaxed at this, registering the rest of Jarvis's words a giggle escaped my mouth. Steve was trying fan kicks? "Okay Jarvis, tell them it time for breakfast. Oh and get me some pictures of Steve trying to do a fan kick." "Right away Sir." Came the reply. "Would you also like me to start a pot of coffee?" "You know me well, Jarvey." Walking into the kitchen I found everyone one else was already up and about. I walked into the kitchen where Natasha was making blueberry pancakes.

"Those for me Romanoff?" I asked trying to grab one. She smacked me with the spatula a frown on her face, " No Stark your fat enough, these are for Peter." She replied cool."Did you just call me fat?" I uttered in disbelief. "I'm not fat, I just eat well." She rolled her eyes at me. The elevator dinged and Peter and Steve walked off. Peter was giggling like a mad man and Steve was holding a towel against his bloody nose. Clint laughed when he saw the two, " What happened to you?" he asked in between giggling fits. " Fan Kicks." I giggled, Steve looked at me surprised then looked down in embarrassment. 

Peter patted his arm comfortingly and Steve sighed. "How did you know?" "Jarvis, also I have pictures." He looked at me turning a bright shade of red. By now everyone was in giggling fits and holding there stomachs."Stark, you have to give me some of those photos." Clint wheezed. "Never Barton, this black mailing material is for me alone." I said. Steve sat down still holding his nose while Natasha handed him and Peter a plate of pancakes, a small smile gracing her lips. "Wait why does Steve get pancakes?" I asked. "Because there pity cakes." She said walking away. I grumbled under my breathe a grabbed a mug of coffee. I turned to see Peter staring at his food in confusion once more.

Jeez, what was this kid feed? He hasn't even had pancakes. Before I could get over to help him, Steve turned and picked up his fork gently cutting into it holding a small piece towards Peter while saying, "Its a pancake." Peter looked at him for a moment before leaning in slowly and biting into it. He chewed and a smile broke across his face. "Good, huh?" Clint asked sitting next to him a smoothie in his hand. Peter nodded slowly and smiled at Clint who in return ruffled his hair. Halfway through his first pancake Peter was full and couldn't eat anymore. Bruce frowned when he saw this, he turned to me after Peter got up to go stare a Thor who was currently struggling to open his pop-tart wrapper. 

"Tony it would be best to put an I.V. in him this morning while we work on something that will help him speak." Bruce said. I nodded in agreement while sipping my coffee. " You got it green bean, I'm done here so i'll take him down to the lab with me." I put my mug in the sink and walked past Bruce who wasn't happy about the nickname green bean. "Come on Petey, wanna head to the lab with me?" 

He nodded then grabbing Thor's pop-tart opened it and returned it to him smiling before grabbing my hand. "Thank you, young warrior for aiding me in vanquishing this troublesome wrapper of the tarts." Thor boomed, Peter giggled and waved as we walked towards the elevator.

 

\-----3rd P.O.V.-----------------------------------------------

Four hours later, Steve had finished reporting to Fury and completed the paper work for adopting Peter. He smiled as he traveled back to the tower waiting to deliver the good news. He had a son, Peter was his and Tony's son and nothing could make him happier at the moment. Walking to the lab he walked in just as Tony and Bruce finished their project for Peter. The end product was small silver choker. It had a small arc reactor in the middle and hummed faintly.

Peter was in the corner hacking the Pentagon just for kicks. He logged of there files when Tony and Bruce approached him. Bruce removed the I.V. from Peters arm and tapped up the small injection hole. He flexed his muscles a looked down a t the small bandage covering his arm. 

Tony handed him the choker and explained what it was and how it worked. Peter looked up a huge grin on his face a gave Tony and Bruce a hug. "Were going to put this on now okay Petey." Tony said calmly. nodding his head Peter allowed Tony to place it around his neck a faint click could be heard as it snapped shut.

\---Peter P.O.V.---------------

Click

I opened my eyes not realizing I had them closed. I touched the cool metal on my neck and it hummed gently in response. "Okay Petey, try saying something." I thought about what I wanted to say carefully, after a moment I made up my mind. "Thank you Uncle Bruce and Dad." I was startled a bit when I first heard my voice, but it didn't hurt to talk.

Sure my voice was still quiet but I could speak! After three years of silence this was the first time I could speak without being punished, I was overjoyed. I realized Tony and Bruce where staring at me. Well I did call them Uncle and Dad, I rubbed my neck nervously on how they would react. Its only been a day and I just called them uncle and dad. Oh no, what if that wasn't okay? Am I gonna end up back in that place. I started panicking a bit before my panic was cut off by them hugging me. 

"Your welcome , son." Tony said, a big grin threatening to split his face appear. I was really happy now.A cough interrupted our moment. We turned to see Steve holding up some papers."Well as of right now, he is your son. Mine to, the adoption was approved." I stared up adoption? They adopted me? Meaning they really are my family.

I was suddenly aware that my face was wet. Reaching up I touched my face and looked at my hand. Tears? I was crying, something I hadn't done in a long time. It felt good reliving in fact, so I let them flow a smile on my face. I cried into the shoulders of my new dads, happier than I've ever been in my life.


	7. Chapter 7

Peter's tears kept streaming down his face as his new dads embraced him tightly. He really had a family now, these people had adopted him and they actually cared. They hadn't beaten him or gotten angry even if he had deserved it. He was so happy and for once everything felt right with the world. As they finally pulled away Peter saw Bruce standing in the corner a small smile on his face, wiping his eyes Peter looked back at the two men in front of him.\

"Well Petey, how bout we go tell the team and go celebrate?" Tony asked. Nodding his head he smiled up at the a Cheshire grin plastered across his face.

\--------------------Peter P.O.V.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I felt a huge grin on my face scooting towards the edge of the bed they backed up enough to let me hop of the side. I ran over to Bruce and hugged his legs and was soon wrapped in another hug. "Hey Petey don't forget you can talk now." he whispered in my ear.

Feeling a small brush on my face I pulled back enough to see his face "Thanks Uncle Bruce." I whispered, I have to admit the thought of talking still scared me a tad bit. Hey, if you got hit every time you spoke you'd be a bit paranoid to. He gave me a bigger smile a said " Come on lets get the rest of them and head out for lunch. "Okay." We headed towards the elevator all of us smiling as big as the other.

\----------3rd P.O.V.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the elevator rose none of us dared to ruin the moment by talking. When we reached the living floor Peter rocked eagerly on the balls of his feet. Jeez, this kid was adorable. When the doors finally parted he rushed out and ran straight for Natasha who had bent down to his level when she saw him approach. "My my, whats this all about?" She questioned him. "Guess what?" he whispered. "Purple monkeys are attacking zoo's and releasing all the primates." she said a smile playing on her lips.

"No," Peter said giggling "I have a new family, the best in fact that anyone could get." he stated still speaking softly. "And who would these lucky people be?" she asked with an arched eyebrow, her smile now replaced with a frown. "You Aunt Nat." He giggled, at this she wrapped him in a hug a huge smile on her face. She was happy that they had adopted him she couldn't imagine him anywhere else. 

"Well lucky indeed are we." she said with a small giggle of her own. As the rest of the resident walked in to see what the commotion was about they stopped dead in there tracks to see a smiling and laughing, yes lady's and gentlemen, a laughing Natasha holding a small Peter in her arms. "Did Hell freeze over?" Clint asked shaking off his shock. "I'm an Aunt." Natasha stated proudly putting the shock back on everyone's faces. "You have siblings?" Sam asked giving her a questioning look. "Care to elaborate?" Bucky asked.

"Lady and Gentlemen," Natasha announced "It is my honor to present the newest member of are family, my favorite nephew, Peter Parker!" she said turning him to face the others. By now everyone else was in grins to "Sweet, am I gonna be the funnest Uncle or what!" Clint yelled, making Peter burst into another fit of giggles "This pleases me, welcome young warrior." Thor boomed walking up to Peter and ruffling his hair. 

The Maxamoff's where literally twitching with excitement and even Vision had a smile on his face. Clearing his throat to get there attention Tony stepped closer to the group "Well now, are we gonna sit here all night? Or go get some Shwarma?" Stopping what they where doing they looked at Tony before breaking off to go get ready to go out, only Natasha,Tony,Steve, and Peter remained."Well i'm off to go get ready." Tony announced walking towards his room. Natasha grabbed Peter's hand leading him down the hall. "Where you to going?" Steve called after her. 

"Well he can't go looking like this." She replied "He needs a shower and a fresh set of clothes." Steve winced and face-palmed. Duh, Peter was still wearing the same clothes the found him in and of course he need a shower. How could he forget to actually get the things he needed? He was to wrapped up in about actually adopting Peter that he forgot to get things he might of needed. He watched them walk out of view before going to get ready himself, making a mental note to go shopping later with them. He snorted thinking about them all in the mall, yeah, that would be fun.

\----------------------Peter P.O.V.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aunt Nat was scrubbing my head and body removing the dirt. She frowned at all the scars that loitered my back and a traced a long thin white line on my stomach with her finger, frowning in the process. I patted her hand soothingly to tell her it was okay, since my neck device was on the counter. She smiled at me and grabbed a towel helping me out and drying me off. Placing the device back on my neck a soft click was heard. 

"Aunt Nat?" I asked looking at her "Yes, Petey?" "What's Shwarma?" I whispered inquiringly. She laughed "You know something? I'm not so sure myself. Come on, lets go get you dressed." When we where back in her room she walked to her closet and pulled out a small red v-neck, blue jeans, and a pair of flat tennis shoes. "Unlike some people, I actually went shopping." she muttered turning back towards me.

After a good five minutes of struggling to put the shirt on the right way and my shoes on the right feet she stepped back to admire her handiwork. "Perfect. Now lets fix your hair." She walked back into the bathroom and retrieved a pair of scissors and a comb. "Sit" She commanded placing herself on the edge of the bed. I sat in between her legs and she stared snipping away pieces of my hair until she was satisfied with the length and then proceeded to style it. I sat there thinking of a name for my neck device, because well I was bored and we can't keep calling it a device can we? Two minutes later I had the perfect name for it, The Hope Collar or T.C. for short.

"T.C." I whispered to myself liking the name. "Who's T.C. Petey?" Aunt Nat asked. "Not who, it." Pointing to my collar I continued whispering only loud enough for her to hear "We can't keep calling it a device, so I gave it a name, The Hope Collar or T.C. for short." "T.C." she repeated " Its perfect, I love it." she said "Done." she got up and placed the scissors and comb on a table and retrieved a hand mirror from beside it. 

She placed it in my hands and I saw my reflection, my hair was a lot shorter and showed off my baby doe brown eyes. I looked like a normal kid. "Thanks Aunt Nat" I said a big smile on my face."foarte binevenit dvs." she said (Your very welcome) With that my smile grew bigger " Vorbești român să?" (You speak Romanian to?) 

She looked at me her smile growing even bigger. "Da, e limba mea maternă , în cazul în care l-ai învățat?" (It is my native language, where did you learn it?)"Pe parcursul celor trei ani în care am fost , acolo . Am learened fiecare luanguage care este cunoscut . N-am crezut că voi obține de fapt, șansa să-l folosească , deși ." I said looking down. (During the three years that I was, there. I learned every language that is known. I never thought I would actually get the chance to use it though.) 

She looked at me and pulled me into a hug. "You are safe now, and I promise I won't let anything happen to you."she replied in English "Thanks Aunt Nat." I said in a low whisper. She got up and placed the mirror on the table before grabbing my hand. "Haide , du-te permite întâlni cu ceilalți ." (Come on, lets go meet up with the others.) With that we left her room and headed back towards the living room talking in Romanian the whole way.

\----Tony P.O.V.-----------------------------------------------------

All of us where in the living room waiting for Natasha and Peter. We they turned the corner Peter looked completely different, his hair was cut, he had new clothes on, and he had the cutest eyes I have ever seen. They where talking, but not in English. Since when can Peter speak another language?

"Uh, Natasha? Did you teach my kid a different language in half an hour?" I asked. Peter giggled and Natasha rolled her eyes. "No Stark, don't be jealous the kid is smarter than you." Peter giggled again and Natasha wore a small smirk. Ignoring her statement I looked at Peter "Hey buddy, hows that neck device working for you?" He smiled and whispered "T.C." I looked at Natasha confused " He named it T.C., because neck device doesn't work for him."

"T.C.?" Clint repeated " The Hope Collar or T.C. for short" she said. "It's perfect." Bruce said giving Peter a small smile. We had a tiny smile on our lips from the name Peter gave it. Clapping my hands together I looked at them " So I'm starving lets go eat." "bătrân nerăbdător" Natasha said rolling her eyes(Impatient old man.) 

The twins laughed, Bucky snorted, and Peter giggled again. "Nu e ca vechi mătușa Nat." he said still giggling. (He's not that old Aunt Nat.) "Sunt destul de sigur că este . uita-te la părul gri." Clint said joining in. (I'm pretty sure he is. Look at his grey hair.) Steve started giggling at this point at Bruce gave an amused snort. The only ones who looked confused where me and Sam. "Does everyone understand that?" I asked "Speak English, some of us don't speak nosense." 

"E morocănos ca unul la " ( He's grumpy like one to.)Wanda said "But yes we will speak English for the stupid one." 

"Hey, i'm a genius. Excuse me if I don't know whatever it is your speaking." I retorted " Lets just go." And with that everyone giggled and headed for the elevator.


	8. Chapter 8

The elevator dinged as the doors slide apart into the garage. Peter looked around in awe at the many cars and motorcycles. Tony walked towards a black mustang and opened the door allowing Peter to crawl in the back with Natasha, while Steve and Tony sat up front. Everyone else headed to there motorcycle and pulled out while Natasha showed Peter how to use his seat-belt.When they pulled out Peter blinked a couple times to readjust his eyes to the bright sun, but what him him the hardest was the noise, To his trained ear it was murderous, sure it had been noisy on his missions but nothing like this. Pressing his hands to his ears he tried to block the noise but to no avail. 

Natasha glanced at him and realized what was happening to the poor boy. Pulling out a pair of earpieces, turning a small dial on the side she then placed them in Peters ear. The sound then stopped, blinking Peter lowered his hands and looked at Natasha. "I set them so you would only be able to hear within a five foot area, hopefully they'll help until you can adjust to the noise."She said. "Thanks Aunt Nat." He gave her a small smile. Steve who had been watching the exchange turned back to face forward, grateful Natasha had been able to help Peter so much. Tony parked a couple blocks from the restaurant and fed the meter. As they all got out Peter was overwhelmed by the amount of people there where. Taking a shaky step back he glanced around nervously.

Why where there so many people? The noise alone was bad but they way the sidewalks where packed with people where terrifying. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Steve giving him a reassuring smile, he held out his hand and Peter took it. They took a step further into the crowd and Peter's grip tightened drastically, another step and he was then shaking violently. Peter did't know what scared him about this many people but see strangers everywhere was horrifying to him. He clung to Steve's pant leg barley managing to get out small breathes."Petey? Are you okay there bud?" Tony asked.

Peter didn't answer hr just clung tighter to Steve barley breathing. "Oh God Tony, he's having a panic attack!" Natasha hissed, she moved over to the duo and managed to get Peter of Steve's leg before his knees buckled. Steve quickly bent down and picked him up, rubbing circles on the child's back he attempted to calm him down. "Shh, Petey its okay, your okay.We won't let anything happen to you." Steve whispered. Peter was in tears, his face was buried in Steve's neck.

Tony and Natasha watched them not really knowing what to do to help. Peter's tears stopped after a couple of minutes and his breathes slowed back to normal. "I think we should cancel our lunch plans for today." Steve said looking at Tony. "No,no,...i'm fine,..i'm fine." Peter muttered "Are you sure Petey? " Tony asked with an arched eyebrow. "It's okay we can go if you want, there's no reason you need to subject yourself to this." Natasha added. "No...i'm fine. I wanna see what normal people do. I'll be fine." Peter whispered. The three adults exchanged looks and stood there for a moment deciding silently what to do.

"Okay, Petey but i'm gonna carry you there. Is that all right?" Steve asked. Peter nodded his head but otherwise remained silent as they started back into the crowd of New Yorker's, Natasha and Tony on either side of Steve. Peter kept his face buried in Steve's chest eyes closed tightly. He listened to the beating of the man's heart finding it soothing and helping him to relax. He had never had a panic attack before, but he knew that this wouldn't be the last. He wasn't ready to trust people yet, and with this many around in just one place, it might take awhile before he's used to normal life. One thing was for sure though he was glad he had a family to help him through it. 

When they had arrived at the restaurant everyone was waiting for them packed together at a large table. "Hey slowpokes, what took you so long? I thought I might die of starvation before you showed up." Clint teased. When none of them responded everyone's conversation had stopped to look at the group that had arrived. "What ails thee my friends?" Thor boomed. "Keep it down Goldilocks," Tony said " You to Barton, no loud noises. 

"What happened?" Bruce asked before Clint could retort. Natasha sighed as they took a seat, Peter still in Steve's arms with his face buried in the large man's chest. "Is Peter okay?" Bucky questioned staring at the boy with concern. "Why is he sleeping?" Wanda asked "Did you bore him to sleep with one of your stories Stark?" That comment caused the group to look at Steve and Peter, and Steve moved the boy's head a fraction to see he really was asleep. "He had a panic attack once we got out of the car, after being locked up for three years that many people in one place probably scarred him, and why wouldn't they? Nobody's treated the poor kid right and he doesn't trust easy. Luckily Steve was able to calm him down so we didn't have to use a sedative.

We where going to cancel this little "party" but Peter insisted on seeing what a normal person does so Steve carried him here. I'm not surprised he's asleep though after a panic attack like that, it should do his body some good." Natasha summed up for everyone. They looked at her surprised she actually had explained what happened before looking to the small boy once more. "Geez, poor kid. We dragged him into this without thinking about how it would affect him." Sam muttered. "Well there no point in sulking now, we're already here lets eat. But keep your voices low so Peter can sleep, we can figure this out later." Natasha said while picking up her menu. "And Stark, don't forget to get him food."

Three hours later everyone was back at the tower watching Fear Factor. Peter was still asleep in Steve's arms and had yet to wake. Nobody dared to wake him, and if you had a usually happy carefree Steve threatening to snap your arms if you woke him you'd be scared silent too. Steve peered down at Peter's sleeping form, today was a little to much for the poor boy, they would have to be more cautious about taking him outside. Peter started to wake a small yawn escaping his mouth as he shifted to push himself up into a sitting position. Everyone froze as he did so waiting for Steve's response to the awake child. "Hey Petey, how are you feeling." Steve asked.

Peter looked around taking in his surroundings, he remembered falling asleep listening to Steve's heart. "Okay," he whispered quietly, barley loud enough for Steve to hear "I'm sorry for earlier." "There's no need to apologize Petey, it wasn't your fault okay?" Steve said. "You hungry Pete? We brought you some food." Tony said changing the topic. Peter nodded getting off Steve's lap to stretch before following Tony to the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes along the way. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as soon as Peter was out of view glad none of their arms had been snapped.


	9. Chapter 9

Tony watched as Peter took tiny bites out of the wrap they had brought back for him. He had barley made a dent in it when he placed it back down and re-wrapped it. He watched Peter place it on the lowest shelf in the fridge before returning to his seat, face emotionless like when they first found him. "Hey Petey, you okay?" Tony asked softly trying not to upset the boy. Peter stared at him for a moment before nodding his head "I...i'm sorry again for earlier." he whispered "It wasn't your fault, besides we already told you there's no need to apologize for something you had no control over." By now Tony was sitting next to the boy comforting him in any way possible.

"Come on, why don't we go rejoin the savages." A small smile appeared on Peter's face and he climbed off the stool two steps behind Tony. When they got back in the main room there was an argument about what to watch, Thor wanted friends, Clint insisted on Doctor Who, and Sam was suggesting a movie. Peter sat down and watched the argument in fascination when a grey smoke started to spread through the room, an alarm blared and everyone moved into a fighting stance, while Peter remained focused on the smoke. The smoke formed into a man who wore red and had a black cape hanging from his shoulders. "Dracula." Steve hissed "What do you want?" "Come now Rodgers, I thought you to be smarter than that." The man called Dracula said in a heavy Transylvanian accent. 

By now Peter had realized the man was a threat, he flipped over the back of the couch and stood in a defensive position with the rest of the group. "A copil?" ( A child?)He snorted "Eu nu sunt copil."( I am no child) Peter whispered in a flat voice. "Vom vedea asta!"(We shall see about that) he snarled before lunging towards the small boy. Peter easily dodged the large man, and watched as the man slammed into a very angry Steve, who in return slammed him into the ground. Dracula vanished into smoke before reappearing behind Peter trying to catch him. Due to his years of training and heightened senses, Peter was able to maneuver himself around the large man without being grabbed. Launching himself up he kicked the man in the small of his back forcing him back into the group of now incredibly pissed off Avengers, who weren't so happy that Dracula had tried to hurt Peter. 

After a couple of brutal hits Dracula had managed to escape the onslaught. "Un alt baiat zi, o alta zi."(Another day boy, another day) He said to Peter before vanishing into smoke. "Dang it Jarvis, I thought you vampire proofed the tower." Tony whined "Sir, I do not know if you can Vampire proof anything." Jarvis replied "Why was he here?" Wanda asked "Something about Cap's blood." Tony said waving her off before turning back to Peter. "You okay Petey?" Nodding his head Peter turned back around and sat on the couch and returned to watching Fear Factor that was still playing. Everyone was confused of how the boy was so calm after an attack like that,Clint just shrugged before joining him on the couch. Taking there cue everyone joined the two forgetting entirely about the events prior. 

A couple hours later they where still there but watching Napoleon Dynamite for some reason, that Clint insisted was a must see. Thor was laughing so hard the entire room shook, and even Bruce managed a few snorts here and there. Peter yawned and got up to go stand in the corner his back towards the wall. "Whatcha doing there Pete?" Clint asked. Peter just shrugged his shoulders before going completely still, his breathing was slow and his eyes where unfocused. "Um Peter? You okay there bud?" Steve asked "He's asleep." Natasha said still watching the t.v. "Standing up and with his eyes open?" Tony asked in disbelief "It's true he is." Wanda said. Now curious Everyone was staring at Peter who remained motionless in the corner. "Why is he sleeping like that, and how for that manner?" Sam questioned. 

"He was probably forced to sleep like that for these past three years, it's only natural for him to sleep like that." Natasha stated. "He slept fine with me, and he was sleeping normally with Steve only a couple of hours ago." Tony said eyeing the small boy. "One how do you know that when he was sleeping with you? And two with Steve he couldn't sleep standing up because he was being carried besides his eye's where shut long before he feel asleep on Steve." Natasha turned to face him "That's his normal way of sleeping." Tony looked at her for a moment but said nothing in return. Clint by now was walking towards Peter "Petey, come on lets get you to a proper bed." He placed his hand on Peter's shoulder and was suddenly staring up at the ceiling. "Ow" he coughed rolling over to look at the boy. 

Peter stood there horrified, he had just flipped one of the people nice enough to take him in. Surely they would be angry at him. Instead he heard laughing, he glanced at Natasha who was laughing hysterically at Clint being flipped, everyone else was in shock. Natasha laughing? That was a new one to all of them. "Serves you right Clint, you shouldn't wake people up." She giggled. "Sorry." Peter whispered helping Clint up. "Don't be Peter, he deserved it."Natasha sighed wiping the tears from her face. "Love you to Tash." Clint muttered wiping the dirt off his pants. Natasha walked over and picked up Peter "Come on lets go to bed." She whispered to him "Before Clint gets hurt more." With that she walked out of the room towards her own Peter cradled in her arms. 

\----------Peter's P.O.V.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Please, I have a family. You can't, please, you can't" The man was cut off by his own blood curdling scream , and blood began dripping from the corners of his mouth his eyes rolling back into his head as his body seized from the pain. I woke up breathing heavily and looked around frantically to see that I was in Aunt Nat's room. A light clicked on and Natasha rubbed her eyes looking at me. "Vis urât?"(Bad Dream?) she asked. I nodded my head while slowing my breathing back down. She reached over to the nightstand and passed me T.C. helping me put it on. After the faint click she relaxed back into the pillow "Wanna talk about?" She said in English. 

I hesitated, I knew I could trust her but would she trust me after she heard what I had done? I sighed, she deserved to know. So I told her, I told her everything from my first memory of the fire to when they had found me trapped with Tony. When I was finished I was in tears again, furiously wiping them from my face. Natasha hugged me tightly while whispering soothing words to me. "Perhaps it's time you heard my story as well." And with that she started telling me everything she had done ,not leaving a single detail out. Her story was a lot like mine but hers was far worse, while I had only been there three years , she spent most of her life locked away. 

"We all get nightmares," She whispered " But there is always an end to them. That's what makes them nightmares, there's always a way out if you know how to find it." I returned her hug and we sat there for a few blissful moments. "Well I don't think either of us is going back to sleep, and since it's 5:30 in the morning it isn't time for breakfast. How about some training?" She suggested "Yes please Aunt Nat." I whispered. 

We got up and headed for the elevator not bothering to change out of what we we're wearing. I kept thinking about how lucky I was to have a family like this, and I was beyond glad Aunt Nat knew exactly how I felt. I realized something, Aunt Nat was really good at talking to other people even if it was only a couple sentences, whereas I could barley manage a whisper. 

Maybe she could help me with my communicating skills.It couldn't hurt to try "Aunt Nat?" I asked her as we stepped into the elevator. "Yes draga nepotul?"(Yes dear nephew?) she smiled "Va va ajuta-mă să vorbesc mai bine? Eu nu sunt foarte bun la asta, dar vreau să învețe." (Will you help me talk better? I'm not really good at it, but I want to learn.) I said quietly "Of course." she said "You'll be a pro in no time." I smiled up at her "Thanks Aunt Nat, for everything." I said "Your very welcome," she said as the doors opened "Now lets go kick Steve's butt in training." With that I ran out of the elevator eager to get started training with Aunt Nat.


	10. Chapter 10

It was 8:30 a.m. when Steve finally surrendered to Natasha and Peter. After three rounds of paintball Steve was pretty sure he never wanted to see the color pink again. He hung up his equipment and rubbed some more pink out of his hair, that pair was ruthless, and yet they barely had any paint on them at all. They had come down a half hour after he had started training, and Natasha was quick to suggest paint-ball for "hand-eye coronation" and "performance under pressure" Steve had only agreed because Peter had never played and he was a bit interested in it to. He realized his mistake fast, playing with a trained weapon and former assassin was not as fun as one would think. 

Peter and Natasha actually ended up teaming up against Steve resulting in an onslaught of Pink covering the Super-solider from head to toe. He walked to the elevator meet by the duo. "Hey Cap, you still got a bit of pink in your hair here." Natasha said with a small smirk gesturing to a point on his head, and Peter giggled behind her seeing the irritation on his face. Steve looked at him a grin forming on his face as well "If you ask me, Peter could use some more color." Peter went wide eyed as Steve pulled out the paint gun from behind his back loaded with pink paint-balls, but before he could even take a shot, the small boy had disarmed him and was now holding the weapon pointed directly back at Steve. "Now, Peter, lets not do anything rash." He stuttered backing up while looking for something anything to use a protection. "If you ask me little nephew, I think Cap needs a little more pink." Natasha said Peter grinned mischievously before firing a round recovering Steve's chest in pink. After the gun was empty Steve looked horrified at the color re-coating his clothes. 

He stared at the two in disbelief, how on earth was he going to get them back if they could easily dodge him? It would be impossible with all this open space, a thought popping into his mine he looked at the two, a small plan forming in his mind. "Okay you win lets go eat, i'm starving." Steve said walking into the elevator. Natasha and Peter stepped in with them looking skeptical, and as soon as the doors closed he sprung into action pulling them both into a hug getting the pink paint on them as well. Peter squealed and Natasha looked perplexed at the thought of being covered in a different color than black. "Seriously Rodgers? What are we kids?" she asked escaping his embrace. "That's what you get for tag teaming me." Steve laughed still holding Peter. The small boy didn't seem to mind though already excepting his fate of being pinkified. Revenge was sometimes sweet.

When the trio stepped out of the elevator the rest of the avengers instantly started laughing. "That's a good look on you Cap." Clint snorted holding his stomach. "What where you guys even doing?" Tony inquired. "Paintball." Natasha said. She walked over to the fridge and pulled out the milk pouring two glasses. She handed a glass to Peter before sitting at the bar sipping her own glass. Steve set Peter next to her before fixing pancakes and eggs. Peter watched as the rest of the Avengers went about their daily bushiness, Thor was obsessing over another pop-tart, Clint and Tony where watching the T.V., and Bruce was reading the newspaper in the corner sipping on some coffee. As for the rest of the team there where off on a mission, where exactly Peter wasn't sure. When a plate was placed in front of him he looked up to see Steve walking around the counter with another plate sitting himself next to Peter. 

He looked back down at the food, it smelled amazing, taking his fork he took a small bite of the food smiling as he chewed. "Thanks Pop's, it's really good." Peter whispered. "No problem, it was my pleasure." Peter looked at the soldier and gave him a small smile. He finished less than half the plate when he was full, pushing the dish back he hopped off the stool and stretched his back letting out a small yawn. "Come on Peter, lets go get you cleaned up. You can't walk around all day covered in pink." Natasha said getting up and placing her cup on the counter. He followed her back to her room where she showered him and put him in a fresh set of clothes. 

A couple of hours later Natasha was teaching Peter how to project his voice more so he wouldn't whisper all the time. At first it was nearly impossible for Peter to manage anything louder than a whisper, but after an hour he was almost at a normal volume. Granted his voice was still a bit quieter than most people's but it was a huge improvement on his part. Natasha was proud that he was able to improve so much on his first day, she gave him a small hug before leading him back to the living room. They where greeted by Clint who was watching a Disney movie. "Watcha watching Uncle Clint?" Peter asked. 

Clint jumped a bit at the sound of Peter's voice never really hearing it before. "Well isn't this a nice surprise." He said waving them over "It's called Finding Nemo. Care to watch it with me?" "Yes please." Peter said joining him on the couch while Natasha crashed into a chair beside them. The film was interesting to say the least, Peter still didn't quiet understand the point of the movie. It was about fish, and he was pretty sure fish didn't talk, at least he hoped not. He was still a bit confused about the entire thing, but he shrugged it off. Clint had taken it upon himself to teach Peter about jokes,pranks, and puns. And after a while Peter was really getting into them forgetting completely about the complicated fish film. When the rest of the Avengers had returned Peter and Clint where in the midst of a pun war. "Uncle Clint, I simply relish puns." Peter giggled out. "Ah, but Petey, you must use them wisely, otherwise you could find yourself in a bit of a pickle." Clint retorted 

"Oh god Steve, Clint has turned our son into a mini version of him." Tony wailed "Tony calm down, I think it's cute. Not to mention Peter is actually talking." Steve said "Yes Man of Iron, this is quite amusing." Thor boomed. Peter giggled some more before climbing off the couch to meet the heroes. "Hi guys." He said a sweet little smile appearing on his face. "Hello Young Warrior!" Thor laughed "Hey Petey," Bruce said "It seems your voice is improving, and your in a good mood. May I ask why?" " Well Aunt Nat helped teach me how to talk better, and Uncle Clint is teaching me comedy." He said looking sheepishly to the floor."The kid's a natural." Clint said looking over the couch "I finally have someone to give me a run for my money." 

Peter giggled and rolled his eyes at Clint, something else the archer had taught him. "Oh God, he really is a mini Clint, i'm sorry Stark but I need to move. One is enough for me." Bucky sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. "I knew this day would come." "Shut it Barnes, you know you can't get enough of this." Clint replied wiggling his eyebrows, causing yet another sigh to escape the mans mouth. Running over to Bucky, Peter hugged his legs smiling up at him. "Uncle Clint's not that bad Uncle Bucky." Peter said "Not that bad? I'm fabulous i'll have you know." Clint feigned hurt, he then threw his hands in the air and with as much Dramatic Flare as he could muster he fell back into the couch sighing when he landed. "My nephew has betrayed me, me, his favorite Uncle. I must have died." Peter ran over to the couch hoping to participate in this charade "Oh no! Uncle Clint, you where my 3rd favorite Uncle. Who will I watch Fish movies with!" Peter cried in his soft voice "Oh, the inhumanity! At least Aunt Nat and I can turn your room into a training room now."

"Whoa whoa whoa, 3rd favorite? And don't even think about touching my stuff!" Clint screamed sitting up "And why Natasha? Why a training room? Fish movies? Is that all I am to you?" Everyone was now laughing at the duo, glad to see Peter so lively, and heck he even caused Clint to freak out. Man was this a good day, and Peter seemed to be doing much better. He was nothing like when they first found him. "If you two are done, lets eat. We brought dinner." Steve said walking towards the kitchen, the rest of them following behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally found someone to help with my story! Thanks a lot for all your guys support, it keeps me going. Hopefully I'll update soon!


	11. A New Face

It has been three days since Peter was rescued and a lot has happened in that small amount of time. On the fourth morning Peter went about his small routine: practice with pop's in the gym, breakfast, a couple hours in the lab with Uncle Bruce and Dad, lunch, hang out free time time with Uncle Clint and Thor (sometimes including the twins!), practice espionage skills with Aunt Natasha, dinner, movies, and then sleeping up against the wall until Natasha or one of his newly adopted fathers moved him.

Peter smiles as he starts his schedule. However during breakfast all of his plans goes up in smoke when the elevator dings unexpectedly and a strange woman he has never met steps out like she belongs here, but clearly she doesn't or he would know her. Peter immediately goes into a battle-ready fighting stance, completely forgetting about his eggs on the counter.

The woman raises an eyebrow at him in return. The two stand like this for a couple moments. Peter looks around for his family members, or at the very least a weapon wanting to get this intruder out as quickly as possible. Nobody was around however. Steve went to take a shower leaving the boy alone. Unfortunately nothing presented as far as a real weapon went, so Peter keeps up his lethal stance. He's waiting for this stranger to make the first move.

"Excuse me, but do happen to know where Mr.Stark is?" She asks him directly.

Peter merely stares at her, relaxing into his blank face and studying this new adversary.

"I believe Mr. Stark is in his lab at the moment, but I will tell him you are here." J.A.R.V.I.S. answers for Peter.

This doesn't make him relax however as J.A.R.V.I.S. could have been hacked, he could be damaged, this could be somebody that he knows and is on the Safe List, or it could be a woman who was on the list, but has been removed. There are a thousand possibilities as to why the A.I. would answer this stranger and not all of them are innocent.

The most important thing is Peter has _never_ seen her before and he isn't one to blindly trust:  Ever!

"Thank you, J.A.R.V.I.S.." She thanks the security machine before moving towards the couch.

Peter tenses as she approaches, raising his right fist higher while crouching into a lower position,. In case he needs to move quickly, he gets ready for any possibility. When the stranger notices this action she stops dead in her tracks! She eyes Peter up and down but makes no further threatening movements. Just in case, he scans her and spots three guns on her person. Even though she doesn't move for them, he crouches a little lower just in cased this happens to change.

Clint walks in at this moment, and freezes when he sees the dangerous body language of two people in the room. He shouts over his shoulder to Natasha, "Uh Nat? I think you need to come here; like now!"

"What the heck did you do this time Barton? I swear; if you broke something you're dealing with Stark on your own this time, Barton." she replies walking around the corner and into the room.

Understanding the potential emergency before her, she quickly puts her hand up to her ear. "Tony, Cap get your asses here now. You too, Thor this could get ugly."

Putting her hand down she takes a step towards Peter only to watch the small boy grow more tense. His face completely devoid of any type of emotion. "It's okay Petey; she's a friend." Natasha crooned gently.

Peter makes no response to this at all and Natasha dares not make another move towards him. He is ready to attack and Natasha doesn't want to startle him into any sort of violent action by mistake.

Causally Clint asks, "So Pep, how's your day going?" They were all waiting for their back up.

"Who's child is this?" Pepper questions. "And why does he look like he wants to kill me?" She asks.

Upon hearing the word: _kill_ , Peter physically flinches, causing Natasha to take a step back. Clint steps out in front of Pepper. Thankfully Tony, Steve, and Thor showed up at this exact moment stopping when they see the scene in the room. Nobody moves in fear of what might happen if they make the wrong move.

Peter however is trying to figure out exactly what _is_ happening,

Clint had stepped in front of the woman, while Natasha was standing in front of him. Everyone else was still watching his reaction. Peter lowers his arms a fraction, he is still quite confused as to the strangers purpose here in his new home.

Was she perhaps an avenger?

No, Peter had gone through those files, but she clearly wasn't a trespasser either. Why did the strange woman ask if Peter was going to kill her? Did she know about him? Natasha who has noticed Peter's small steps closer, slowly approaches Peter with small cautious steps towards him. Peter tilts his head to the side and looks up at Natasha who is almost to him. She stops where she is and gets down on her knees, hands on her lap. Peter watches as the rest of the group moves the woman back behind them before turning to have small conversation with her. When they finish they turn back around and the woman is nodding.

Peter had overheard what they said to her. He could thank his acute hearing, and the fact that he had forgotten to put the earplugs Natasha had given to him in his ears. So she _did_ know them, and she _hadn't_ broken in, but what was to say she wouldn't attack Peter? She has weapons on her and Peter bet she knew how to use them too. As if by reading his thoughts Natasha nods before turning her head towards the small group behind her.

"Would you mind removing your weapons?" She requests. The group looks at her before moving to place their weapons on the floor. A hammer, bow, shield, and a red metal hand now lay on the floor.

"Guy's, I was talking to Pepper." Natasha says smirking, and all besides Thor, looks away in embarrassment.  After all of Pepper's weapons have also been placed on the floor, she too steps back causing Peter to relax. Natasha stands up and walks over to him grabbing his small hand before turning back to face the others.

"Peter, this is Pepper Potts. She's a old friend of Tony's." Clint said taking a step forward finally cutting the tension in the room as though with a knife causing the entire room to calm down.

"Sorry, everyone. I guess I forgot to mention Pepper was coming over to see all of us, and meet Peter." Tony laughs.

Everybody turns to look at Tony and glares.

"For a genius Tony; you can be pretty stupid sometimes!" Natasha growls angrily.

Thor booms obviously annoyed, "Yes, Man of Iron. You almost caused the young warrior here to have an attack of the heart!"

Before walking out of the room, "If you all don't mind; I'm going to finish my shower now," Steve merely rolls his eyes in amusement since nothing bad had happened.

Thor is the next to go and give Tony another glare before he to leaves the room. He is far from amused at Tony and his shenanigans. Or indeed his manner of laughing at the mistake he had made in neglecting to mention Pepper's visit to his family before she had arrived. No matter how silly it had turned out to be in the end. He sighs to himself as he walks away from the others.

This leaves The Two Spy's, Tony, Pepper, and Peter together.

"So mind telling me whom this... small... child, _is_ Stark? Or why he seemed like he had wanted to _hurt_ me?" Pepper questioned.

 _'So she_ did _think Peter was going to harm her.'_ Natasha thinks to herself. Peter abruptly tightens his grip on Natasha's hand upon hearing Pepper's words. Noticing this Natasha interrupts Tony before he could answer Pepper's question and asks, "Clint, how about we take Peter to the park?"

"You sure about this Nat?" Clint asks her.

"Yes, besides I don't think Peter's been to the park yet."Is her vague answer to her partner.

Clint looks at her skeptically before nodding his head. "Meet you in the garage in a half hour."

Tony looks to Natasha. "There's a sedative in the lab. I'll have Bruce bring it to you before you guys leave." Tony walks to the elevator "Coming Pepper?" Pepper who had been standing there, snaps out of her thoughts before joining Tony in the elevator. When their faces vanished behind the polished steel, Peter relaxes fully before meeting Natasha's gaze.

"What's a 'park'?" He wonders out loud.

Natasha smiles before walking towards her room, Peter in tow. "A big place where people go to relax in an area with a lot of trees -- large plants that can grow very tall and have leaves that usually fall off in the Fall. That's why we can it: Fall." She trails off before goading, "These people that go to these parks, usually do so because they have nothing better to do," Natasha finishes.

Peter giggles at this last part. "So we're going for Uncle Clint?" He invents with a teasing sound to his wee, sweet, little voice.

It is Natasha's turn to laugh, "Yeah, we're going for Uncle Clint." She is rather happy at Peter's social progress. Right after he was rescued he would never have thought to make up such a joke. Nor would he have accomplished it so easily. It makes her smile with pure joy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [THIS HAS BEEN UPDATED. I HAD TO CHANGE A FEW THINGS TO KEEP THE CORRECT TENSE AND THIS DELETED A FEW WORDS. THIS AND THE FACT THAT WHEN A NEW PERSON SPEAKS A WRITER HAS TO CHANGE THE PARAGRAPH, MADE IT LOOK SHORTER THAN THE ORIGINAL. SO I WROTE MORE TO FILL UP THE SPACE. IS IT OKAY? DO YOU HATE IT? LET ME KNOW, PLEASE! ---- AKM]


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BETA AKM NOTE TO FANS OF Leojuju12: Hallo everyone! Just wanted to quickly 're-introduce myself. I'm helping the author. They asked me to co-author, but I haven't really done much of that, yet. (Not sure if I should or not.)
> 
> This chapter still needed work, as their Beta. I am sorry that it is not done yet. I've got a chronic illness and was not feeling well so I forgot to email the author about the delay. ALL I managed to do was create the Basic paragraphs by quickly guessing where they might be. IF there are ANY mistakes, it is MY FAULT!
> 
> Leojuju12 asked me to Beta, and to be frank this chapter was not finished, just yet.
> 
> However it shall be shortly. If you would all check this Beta Note for Updates, please. I shall post on here when it is Finished, and I do apologise...
> 
> AKM --- Beta for 'Struggle' BY: Leojuju12
> 
> Post Script: Isn't this chapter just ADORABLE! When I read it I fell in LOVE with the cuteness. It is just too precious for words...

Peter is nervous to say the least. Going out again makes him a bit anxious. Rubbing T.C. absentmindedly, he watches as the cars pass by and crowds line the sidewalks. Natasha is arguing with Clint in the front seat about why he isn't driving. Smiling to himself he reaches to his ears and readjusts his earpieces to hear the conversation better.

"I wouldn't kill us, Nat! You're just being paranoid," Clint whines, sagging his shoulders to garner sympathy to help emphasize his point.

"Clint Barton," Natasha admonishes. "I don't need you scaring Peter half to death with your reckless driving, Mr. 'I don't Drive Like A Maniac'!"

"Come on, Nat, " Clint wheedles. "You know; I'm not _that_ bad."

"The road trip to Texas," Natasha deadpanned.

'Point taken," Clint replies defeated. Thus ending the conversation.

When they arrive at the park, Peter looks around hesitantly. He is not ready to leave the comforts of the car. When Clint opens the door, he is ready to return home not exit the vehicle and confront all of these unknown people.

"Come on, Petey, your new Uncle Clint here promises to shoot anyone who gives you any trouble," Clint says grabbing his hand, carefully, and slowly helping him out of their car.

Peter shifts his gaze nervously. There is not a whole lot of people, but there is still far _too_ many for his liking.

"Why don't you let your Uncle Clint give you a piggy back ride?" His new aunt suggests to Peter while looking at Clint out of the corner of her eye. "This way you won't have to actually walk past anybody."

Taking the hint, Clint tells Peter, "Yeah, Petey it will be fun! We could even scare some pigeons while we are at it. If you want."

Peter looks at the two of them confusingly. "Piggy back," he repeats arching his left eyebrow. (A trick he has learned from Clint.)

"It will be fun," Clint says again not understanding Peter's confusion with the term.

Natasha sighs at his ignorance. She picks up Peter placing him securely on Barton's back. "People call this a piggy back ride," she tells him. "It is where one person rides on another person's back instead of walking," as she eagerly supplies more information to Peter about the world.

"But in this case it is called a piggy back ride because your Uncle Clint -- is a pig!" Natasha teases.

"Hey! I take offense to that," Clint whines in response. Peter just giggles again and again. "Not you too, Petey! Your Aunt Tasha is _mean_. Mean, I tell you," he adds dramatically cover his heart with his left hand before saying, " _Don't_ let her fool you. Better yet, don't let you _near_ you. She might gobble you up."

At this joke Peter's eyes widen. He looks over to his aunt for reassurance that no such thing could possibly happen.

"Barton enough, you're scaring him, and don't worry Petey I'm on a Human Free Diet." She said giving him a small grin, "Come on how about we look around," and with this they start down the path.

Peter ducks behind Clint's shoulder as soon as they pass the first people and remain like this until they reach the duck pond. Clint stops and Peter risks glancing up. There are small little creatures that have something that isn't fur on them swimming around the pond. Making sure no one is around Peter climbs down and walks to the edge of the pond. One of the bigger creatures comes closer to him followed by four smaller yellow ones. Peter watches in awe as they swim closer, gracefully floating on the waters surface making small noises that sound like quacking to him.

When they are within reach, Peter holds out his small hand towards them and strokes their feathers softly. They are ramming their heads into his hands. He keeps giving them the attention they want. He giggles when the waddle out of the water and surround him, still making their sweet quacking noises. Crossing his legs Peter pets one of the smaller creatures as it hops onto his lap, soon to be joined by the other small ones. Hearing a flash Peter turns his head towards Clint and Natasha who have these huge smiles on their faces and a pair of small cameras in their hands.

"Never seen ducks do that before." Clint says watching as the ducks hop around in the small boy's lap. He then switches from taking pictures to recording a video. "Hey Petey, what does the duck say?" he asks the giggling boy. "Quack!" he says quietly and manages to sound like the ducks who quack gleefully in response. Turning back to his new friends Peter quacks to them, enjoying the conversation that he somehow understands. They mostly talk about the pond the ducks live at and how yummy the fish taste.

The boy's smile only grows larger when the bigger duck asks to meet _his_ family. Peter instantly agrees, turning back to his Aunt and Uncle who had been watching the exchange with quiet amused smiles at the boy's gentle antics. Peter stands and walks over to them, the ducks following close behind in an adorable little line. It looks just like when baby ducks follow their mother.

"Lily, this is my Aunt Natasha and my Uncle Clint." he says pointing to each of them in turn as he introduces them to the aquatic birds. "And this, Aunt, Uncle is Lily and her kids: Daffy, Veronica and Tom." Peter continues gesturing to the ducks one-by-one as he proudly introduces them to his new family.

"Very nice to meet you all." Natasha says looking at the ducks. Lily the duck quacks in return, dipping her head a little bow.

"She said, 'The pleasure's hers'." Peter translates. Clint watches confused. _Could Peter actually understand the ducks?_ That _is_ a  new one! "Hey can we take them to the tower? The family will want to meet them." Peter asks Natasha with a small smile on his face.

"Totally, I bet Tony would love to meet them." Clint says before Natasha can answer. "Why don't we go there now?" Peter gives a huge smile and nods his head eagerly grabbing Clint's hand. When they get back to the car, Clint waits for all the ducks to hop in before shutting the door and getting in on the passenger's side.

"Barton what are you thinking?" Natasha hisses at him when he gets himself buckled. "The look on Tony's face when we come home with four ducks --- _Priceless_." Clint snickers earning a smack upside the head and a little smirk from Natasha. The ride home is filled with quaking and small giggles from the back seat. When they arrive in the garage Clint watches as the ducks follow Peter single file to the elevator, quaking the whole way. Clint's smile grows in anticipation when the doors closed.

"Might I ask who young Master Peter's friends are?" J.A.R.V.I.S. asks.

"Lily, Daffy, Veronica, and Tom." Peter answers J.A.R.V.I.S.'s question.

"Very well."J.A.R.V.I.S. replies and the elevator starts it's way up.

"All the Avengers are currently in the living room," J.A.R.V.I.S. adds making Clint's smile even larger.

"Thank you, J.A.R.V.I.S." Natasha says looking down to Peter who is quacking excitedly to the ducks. The elevator stops and Peter turns towards the doors bouncing with nervous energy. They walk out unnoticed by the team and the doors shut behind them. All eyes turn towards them, and when they hear the quaking everyone's mouths dropped open in shock.

"Are there ducks in my tower?" Tony asks in disbelief.

Peter giggles and runs up to Tony jumping into his lap, the ducks close behind.

"Daddy meet Lily, Daffy, Veronica, and Tom." Peter says introducing his new duck friends once again. Each one quacks when it's name is mentioned. Tony just stares at Peter and the ducks not really sure how to reply, but before he can move Peter turns to the ducks and starts quacking, pointing to everyone in the room.

"Petey? Are you quacking?" Steve asks him looking at the ducks in confusion.

Peter only nods before turning back to his conversation. Snorting could be heard from behind them and they turned to see Clint laughing with tears streaming down his face, a smiling Natasha beside him.

"Barton, why are there ducks in my tower?" Tony questions him more than a little annoyed with Barton at this moment. Before Clint can answer though, Peter turns to them all answering for him.

"Well me and Lily were talking about the yummy fish in the pond, and she asked who was standing behind me. I told her they where my new _family. A_ nd she asked if she could meet them; I told her yes and we came here." Peter tells his dad before returning to his conversation with the ducklings about the annoying pigeons in the park.

"Young warrior. May I ask thee: can you understand these waterfowl?" Thor booms loudly, snapping everyone out of their initial shock.

Peter turns to him after a few quacks from the ducks. "They said they're not water 'fowl' --- 'cause they aren't: 'Foul' --- at all! Also they wanted to know why you can't understand them," Peter tells them then turns to listen to the ducks once again," Also Daffy here just said that only pigeons are noisy and stupid enough to think that ducks are 'foul', and you shouldn't call them that!"

Thor looks too shocked at the small group. He is not really sure how to reply to this, not one tiny bit! Muffled giggling can be heard from each resident in the tower; even Vision* and Bucky gives a small snort. The big duck quacks at Peter and the boy looks rather disappointed. He quacks back before nodding his head, he hops off Tony's lap before heading to the balcony with the ducks waddling after him. They all watch as the ducks walk out and flap their wings, taking off into the sky.

"Bye, guys! Come visit soon okay?" Peter waves as the ducks disappear from view. He then he shuts the door and walks back over to Tony, reclaiming the warm spot on his lap.

"What happened bud?" Steve asks carefully.

"Lily said they had to get back before the stupid pigeons ate the food they had." Peter replies sadly, leaning his head against Tony.

"That's a shame." Wanda says, "I liked Tom; he was funny." Peter giggled at that, and she adds, "And Veronica was sassy!" All eyes where on her now.

"Are you telling me you understood them?" Pietro asks her in disbelief.

"No, but Peter did, so I simply listened through his mind." Wanda shrugs. "Turns out he really could understand them."

"You couldn't?" Peter innocently asks the room full of his new family.

Tony just shakes his head and turns on the T.V. "Nope, Petey, that's just another thing that makes _you_ special." Tony wraps his arms around the boy and leans back into the couch. Peter sighs and relaxes into Tony, ignoring the stares from everyone.

"Who was that lady from earlier?" He asks titling his head to look into Tony's eyes.

"An old friend, she visits every once in a while." He replies ruffling his hair.

"Sorry." Peter whispers embarrassed that he had almost attacked a friend.

"Not your fault bud, I should've told you she was coming." Peter relaxes again and nuzzles his head into Tony's shoulder listening to the sound of his arc reactor and beating heart. Once more peace settles over the tower and Peter is content with the silence. It gives him time to think, his life had been good these last four days, but he knew that good things never lasted in his life.

Deep down Peter knew that his new family could handle themselves but it didn't ease his guilt. If something happens to them he would be to blame and Peter didn't think he would be able to handle the guilt. They had adopted him, but Peter doesn't know what this means; at least not yet. Maybe they were just taking care of him for a few days. If this is the case; he doesn't have much longer with them.

He likes having two dads and a family, even if it was just for a little bit. Peter is happy for the time he gets to spend with them, however long or short it might end up being. He might as well ask them how much longer he has before he has to leave. He isn't scared of what might happen to him, he already has everything he could of asked for in staying with The Avengers, even for a few days. Maybe it is for the best that he leaves. They have their own lives to live, while Peter's life had ended the day he was taken.

It is time for him to move on, they deserve to be happy. Finally mustering up enough courage he looks to Tony "When am I leaving?"

Tony went still when he heard this sad question. "Wh-what?" he stutters.

"When are you taking me back?" Peter asks again speaking slowly. Now everyone is looking oddly at him.

"Peter why on earth do you think we're taking you back." Steve asks in disbelief.

Peter shrugs and looks at him, "Why wouldn't you?"

Steve looks completely shocked. He doesn't understand why Peter is saying these things; he thought he was happy here. Maybe he is wrong?

Natasha looks to him, "Noi nu te-ar lua înapoi, te iubim prea mult. Sunteți o parte din această familie, mi-ar tăia mâna mea înainte de a lua înapoi. Sunteți nepotul meu și te va proteja. Indiferent de ceea ce se întâmplă în timp ce ne-am fi mereu acolo pentru tine, și chiar și atunci când nu putem vom lua confort în faptul că dvs. cel mai puternic persoana știm. Meriți să fii fericit și de a trăi viața pe care au înaintea ta. Și știu sigur că vreau să fiu acolo pentru fiecare parte a vietii tale. Încă mai ai o să trăiască, știu că nu se simte ca ea, dar crede-mă faci. Ar putea dura un timp pentru a seama de asta, dar până când nu aveți toți să ajute."

(We would never take you back, we love you too much. You are a part of this family, I would cut off my own hand before taking you back. You are my nephew and I will protect you. No matter what happens we will _always_ be there for you, and even when we can't we will take comfort in the fact that you're the strongest person we know. You deserve to be happy and to live the life you have ahead of you. And I know for a fact that I want to be there for every part of your life. You still have one to live, I know it doesn't feel like it, but trust me you do. It might take awhile to figure that out, but until you do you have all of us to help.)

Peter cried at that trembling in Tony's arms "Nu zau? Nu merit mătușa Tasha. Am făcut lucruri pe care niciodată nu pot întoarce, am rănit oameni, te doare, atunci când a încercat să ajute."

(Really? I don't deserve it, Aunt Tasha. I've done things I can never take back, I've hurt people, I hurt you when you tried to help.)

"No, you had no control over that. You deserve better more so than me. If I was given a second chance then don't even doubt for a minute that I'm lying." She states firmly. Peter looks at her endearingly. Does she really _mean_ it? The look on her face told him that she does.

"Trebuie să prețioase pentru această lume. Te-au ajutat mai mult decât te-au rănit, chiar și atunci când nu-l merita. Nu se schimbă niciodată cine ești." She says walking to him and picking him out of Tony's arms.

(You are too precious for this world. You have helped more than you have hurt, even when they didn't deserve it. Never change who you are.)

Peter sobs into Natasha's shoulder wrapping his arms around her neck. She rubs small circles into his back and wipes away his tears.

"Multumesc mătușa Tasha." Peter whispers when he was calm enough. (Thanks, Aunt Tasha.) She smiles in return and places a single, gentle kiss on his forehead.

"How about a nap? I think Uncle Clint needs one too." She asks. Peter nodded and Natasha hands him over to Clint who walks towards his room. The small boy already closing his eyes. As soon as the were out of view everyone turns towards her silently asking for an explanation. She just sighs and sits back down sparing a glance to Wanda. Understanding, Wanda nods and pulls everyone into Natasha's memory.

"What the ____?" Tony asks.

"Just a memory of Natasha's; shut up and watch." Wanda answers.

They turn their attention to Natasha who simply points to a small boy laying in a bed. A small scream comes from him, and he shoots up, the boy's frame shaking uncontrollably. A bedside lap is switched on and the team notices they are in Natasha's room. They turn to see none other than Peter panting heavily. As the memory continues, they sat in silence as Peter tells Natasha everything that had happened to him; starting with his first memory of the fire. No one says a single word when he finishes and the memory slowly vanishes, until they are all back in the living room.

"Damn." Tony mutters.

"Language." Steve responds half-hardheartedly. They sit there for a few more minutes.

"You were right about him being strong." Bucky mutters. Natasha just nods in agreement making no attempt to start a conversation. Nothing else is said. Silence had once again reclaims the tower. Looks are cast in the direction the boy had disappeared, they speak of the silent longing to comfort him.

They remain like this until the elevator dings and Pepper steps in cautiously peeking out before entering the room. She is rather determined not to repeat the earlier mornings event's. She is meet with a silent room full of Avenger's, which never happens. Stopping dead in her tracks she looks around to be meet with serious faces.

Had Hell indeed _frozen_ over?

"Who died in here?" She asks rhetorically. All the eyes in the room are instantly on her, making her more than slightly uncomfortable.

"Did you need something, Ms.Potts?" J.A.R.V.I.S. professionally asks.

"I just came to get my weapons from this morning." Pepper answers not taking her eyes off the group. Hell had _definitely_ frozen over if J.A.R.V.I.S. is the only one speaking to her, and nobody else is even saying a quick hello. She walks over to the side table and picks up the guns placing them on herself, before walking back to the elevator. Turning and looking at the group one last time, she notices not one person is moving. It's really starting to freak her out. Had somebody _actually_ died?

"J.A.R.V.I.S. no one has passed away, right?" she asked

"No, Ms.Potts. Everyone here is just thinking," J.A.R.V.I.S. replies.

"That's a new one." With that she steps back into the elevator and watches as their faces disappear.


	13. Chapter 13

t was late in the afternoon when Peter woke up next to his snoring Uncle. Clint was currently holding him between his arms like a teddy bear making it quiet difficult for Peter to wiggle out of his grip. After several in vain Peter gave up and relaxed back into his Uncle's hold. He stared up at the ceiling replaying the events from earlier today in his head. A smile crept across his face when he remembered his Aunts words. They wanted him, and they were never giving him back. A yawn from beside him snapped him out of his reverie. Turning his body Peter was meet with the sight of his Uncle trying to wake up, taking this as an opportunity Peter poked his face and let a small giggle escape his lips. A grumble was all he received in return, so Peter poked the face once again. This time a very grumpy Clint opened his eyes and stared at him. "Did you just poke me?" he asked. Peter simply shrugged and pointed to the nightstand where T.C. lay along with his ear devices, he would have to come up with a better name for those later. Sighing Clint released his grip on the boy and reached for the metal collar helping the boy place it around his neck. Click, Peter let out a small sigh of his own and sat up stretching his arms."Again I ask did you poke me?" Clint said. "I couldn't breathe." Peter mumbled softly before letting another grin appear on his face. The older man just sat up grumbling before kicking his feet over the bed. When he stood he reached over and picked Peter off the bed a smile present on his face now as well. "Come on Petey, we've been asleep for to long. We need to go stir up some trouble." Peter simply giggled before pointing back to the nightstand where his ear pieces lay, maybe Uncle Clint could help him name them. " Aunt Nat said I needed to wear those so, but I can't think of a good name for them." Clint grabbed them with his free hand juggling Peter in the other, he gave them a serious look before turning his face to the others. "How about N.B.?" he suggested. "N.B.?" Peter repeated in a confused tone. "Yeah, N.B. short for nonsense blockers." Clint supplied his grin growing bigger. A giggle escaped the boy's lips once more as he reached over and took the N.B.'s from his hand placing them in his ears. "Thanks Uncle Clint." The man just gave him a bigger grin "No problem Petey, now let's go reek havoc." and with that Clint dashed out of the room Peter still in his arms.

\----------OMG A LINE BREAK THAT'S A NEW ONE---------------------------------

Peter peered around the corner into the living room, a evil grin splitting across his face when he saw all the residents of the tower in there staring silently at the t.v. . He turned back around to his Uncle giving him a small thumbs up. This was going to be good, both of them were loaded with water grenades, guns, and homemade water arrows, curtsy of Peter. Uncle Clint gave him a small nod and they both stepped around the corner weapons raised. "Well what do we have here? It looks to me like these couch potatoes could use a shower." A dark laugh came from him before he turned his head to Peter "Wouldn't you agree partner?" Clint asked him "Yes sir, Uncle Clint! Permission for no mercy sir!" Peter yelled a dark laugh escaping him as well. "Permission granted." Clint said before the two launched their attack on the bewildered group. No one was spared the onslaught that pursued. After everyone was thoroughly soaked Peter turned his weapons upon his Uncle a dark smile spreading across his face. "Uh Petey? Lets think about this rationally. " Clint gulped backing up. "No mercy, remember?" Peter said. All eyes where fixed on the pair. "Yes Barton, I clearly remember you granting the permission of no mercy." Tony smirked. Clint took a nervous step back reaching for another water arrow only to find he didn't have any. The look in Peter's eyes told him he was in trouble, and there was no escape the rest of the team had made sure to block any and all exits. Yeah, he was screwed, but that didn't mean he had to go down quietly. "Tell my family there jerks, also it was me who ate the last of Tony's shawarma. Now, do your worst." He opened his arms in mock surrender. "So it was you!" Tony yelled, he didn't get to say much else before Clint was doused in water leaving Peter the only dry person in the tower. "Nice aim Petey, but that was far to generous, we so no forgiveness to those who eat whats ours." Tony said. "Ah yes but a problem still remains." Clint replied. "And what on earth would that be, pray tell?" Bruce asked wringing his lab-coat out. "Petey boy is still dry." With that everyone turned to the small boy. Peter's eyes widened in realization, this was not good. "You'll never take me alive!" Peter squealed before dashing around the arms trying to hug him. 

An hour had passed and nobody had been able to catch the small boy. He was to quick and nimble, and boy could he move when he wanted to. One by one they each surrendered in pursuit until no one was left to challenge him. He had been victorious in his mission. They all sat back down in the living room, after changing their clothes, and Peter finally emerged from hiding. "Next time," Clint muttered "I will get you next time. That is a promise." Bucky leaned over the back of the couch smile on his face "Don't be upset that there's someone who can actually outdo you. It was only a matter of time after all." Clint looked up at him "Can it James, last time I checked you where also soaking wet. Couldn't even dodge a five year old's water gun." "Would you two get a room." Natasha sighed from the other side of the couch. Bucky just growled under his breathe before sitting down on the couch. Peter walked over to the couch and patted Bucky on the leg soothingly "It's okay Uncle Buck, you can hack the Pentagon with me if it makes you feel better." Bucky looked down at the child. "Please tell me your kidding." "If you don't want to, we can always hack something else. It makes me feel better." Peter said offering a smile to Bucky. Bucky just looked around for help not sure how to answer that. Tony shrugged at him "Hey Petey why don't you show him what you can do first." Peter simply looked over to Tony his smile widening, before running over to the table and picking up the tablet. Running back to the couch tablet in hand he hopped into Clint's lap typing away furiously on the device. The T.V. then flickered and the symbol of Shield popped up. "What the" Clint gaped. The t.v. then switched to the camera feed on-board the Tri-carrier showing the control room and a pacing Nick Furry. Suddenly a beeping screen went off, causing the director to rush over. When he hit the image a recipe for pancakes popped up. All of the monitors also went off, each one reveling a recipe for pancakes. As quickly as they all appeared they disappeared leaving the monitors blank."What in the world?" Nick muttered in disbelief. " Agent Carson, where we hacked?" "No sir." A thin man replied "There are no traces of hackers, the alarms would have gone off if there was." Director Fury looked skeptical before turning back to the monitors."Get Stark on the phone then, tell him our tech is malfunctioning." "Right away director." the man said pulling up a number. The camera angle then switched to face the man, who was in the process of dialing a phone, the phone ringed a couple times before it was answered "Hello Pedro's tacos, may I take your order?" The man quickly hung up a shocked look on his face before re-dialing, only to reach the Mexican place once more. "Director Furry I believe something is wrong with the phones." the man said. The cameras switched once more to the director. "Will someone bring a scientist up here, I am not dealing with this all day." Fury grumbled. The t.v. screen then cut to black before turning back to the channel they where watching earlier. Clint and Tony were laughing their heads off everyone else was simple shocked. "Petey you are definitely my favorite."Clint laughed ruffling Peter's hair. "Seriously you have to teach me how to do that." Tony snorted from his chair. "Peter don't teach your father that. There would be no end to his pranks." Steve asked from beside Tony. "Agreed." Bruce sighed "How about a late lunch? I'm suddenly craving taco's." "I call the place." Tony said standing up and leaving the living room. Peter sifted in Clint's lap and looked up at him placing the tablet aside. "What's a taco?"


End file.
